Austin Tennis Academy News

November 6, 2007

San Antonio ZAT: 28 ATA competitors, Carli Knezevich Champ Qualifier

Over the November 3-4 weekend, 28 Austin Tennis Academy students played in the San Antonio ZAT tournament. Junior Development Director Kendall Brooks and Junior Academy Director Brian Notis, along with Academy Coach John Schoenmakers caught the action firsthand.

In the boys 10s draw, Zach Knezevich won his first round 8-1 before falling to draw champion Angel Palacios. In the same draw, Ian Yonge also won his first round match. Rahul Gorti and Angelo McKinnon both lost their first round matches, but advanced to the back-draw final where Rahul outlasted Angelo. In girls 10s, Remi Immler beat Emily Gottsman 8-6 to make the back-draw final. Mitchell Johnson captured a main-draw win in his first round.

In boys 12s, Anish Rajan defeated Brandon Adkins 6-4, 6-3 to win his first round back-draw match. Keaton Qualls played with great effort in two matches. Sanjit Kumar defeated Eduardo Corona 6-3, 4-6, 10-5 in the first round of the back-draw, defeating his last two opponents in one-sided fashion to win the back-draw. In his first ZAT tournament, Ben Smith won two matches to make the main draw semi-final round. In girls 12s, Carli Knezevich “fought ferociously”, according to Coach Notis, beating Tara Donaho 7-6(5), 7-6(2) to advance to the final, where she beat Maria Batchinsky. With the title, Carli is now Champ qualified. In the same division, Meghan O’Malley won her 1st round 6-1, 3-6, 10-8 over Virginia Steel, Coach Notis watched Meghan “competing extremely well in her second round”. Coach Brooks saw “Ali Burak ready to Champ qualify very soon”, Ali won three rounds to make the quarter-final round. Savannah Brilliant won two back-draw matches.

In boys 14s, James Seward earned a main-draw win, defeating Matthew Kossman 6-1, 6-2. Daniel Howell played two marathon matches, winning his first round over Tucker Haynes 6-4, 2-6, 10-8. Daniel played a similarly close second round, losing to draw champion Arturo Ravelo in the third set super-breaker. Jaxon Immler handled himself “very maturely and impressively for a player who recently started competing”, commented Coach Notis. Pierce Kelley defeated Estefan Garcia 6-4, 2-6, 10-4 in the first round. Conner Campbell, Austin Lewis and Walker Jezek played hard in two matches each. Coach Notis was impressed as “Weston Jezek made progress in his competitive ability”, winning his first round match. Christian Yonge won his first round match. Garrett Callen won two main draw matches, playing “extremely well in his second round match”, said Coach Notis. In girls 14s, Coach Kendall Brooks looked on as Meg Cahill “made great strides in her serving ability under pressure.” Meg made the back-draw final in her first 14s tournament, beating Kaylen Birdwell 6-2, 6-2 along the way. Adrienne Zwiener and Danielle Cuteri gained “valuable experience in their first tournament competition”. In boys 16s, Ryan Burak won two back-draw matches, beating Aaron Mandujano 6-3, 6-2 to reach the back-draw final.

Congratulations to players and parents. The ATA coaching staff is very encouraged by the ATA San Antonio ZAT competitors’ attitudes and their effort. The Austin Tennis Academy looks forward to the December ZAT in New Braunfels, with play beginning on Dec. 1. Register now, the deadline for entry is November 17th.

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