Austin Tennis Academy News

December 10, 2007

Outstanding Austin Champ MZ Results: Berber Finalist, O’Meara Champion

At the Champ Major Zone in Austin, the Austin Tennis Academy turned in some of the best results of the year. In addition to a main-draw champion and finalist, ATA won many matches with several players competing on Sunday. Academy Coaches Jack Newman, Lucie Schmidhauser and Estevam Strecker served as on-site staff. Some draws were shortened due to rain.

In the boys 12s division, Conor O’Meara earned a SuperChamp qualification, impressively winning the draw as an 11 year old. Conor’s run included a 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 semi-final win over Risher Randall. ATA Head Coach Jack Newman points out that Conor’s qualification is not surprising as Conor has recently “been winning practice on a regular basis, especially fitness.” In other action in the same division, Jake Berber “found ways to win through out the weekend,” according to Coach Strecker. Jake defeated Brandon Kivlin in the semi-finals 7-5, 7-5, and then narrowly lost to Connor Lafavre 6-3, 7-6(5). Jake is very close to a SuperChamp 12s qualification at 9 years old. Dylan Ritter played well, losing a close match to O’Meara but showing an “improved emotional and mental approach to the game”, according to Coach Strecker. Zane Ritter also posted a close loss, falling 6-4, 6-4 to Louis Lafair. Rohan Makhija’s tournament was shortened by the weather, while Breck Spencer pulled out a 3 set win over Quashi Phillips 4-6, 6-4, 10-5. Payton Holden narrowly lost two matches, the second to Darien Florez 4-6, 7-5, 6-2. In her first girls 12s Champ tournament, Carli Knezevich fell to (8) seed Briana Fellows 6-4, 6-2.

In boys 14s, Austin Doyle and Andrew Levitan each played one match, while Casey Shaw rebounded from a first round loss to beat Reilly Beeman in straight sets. In girls 14s action, Allie Carlisle played hard in two matches, losing her second match 7-5, 7-5 to Amy Lundquist. In girls 16s, Christine Schatz lost a razor close dual to Cara Bowien 3-6, 7-5, 12-10. And, in girls 18s, Adrian Turner lost an equally close match with Nikol Williams 6-3, 2-6, 13-11.

Congratulations to all ATA competitors in the Austin Champ Major Zone. The coaching staff is very proud of the students and is excited about the January Champ Major Zone in Waco. Register now for the Waco Champ Major, the deadline for entry is December 31.

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