Austin Tennis Academy News

September 8, 2008

ZAT and Champ Players Get Strong Results; Smith Takes The Title

The ZAT and Champ level tennis players were in competition this past weekend, hosted by Belton and Tyler respectively. Seventeen ATA junior athletes traveled to these two cities to showcase their improvement and compete for a spot in the next division. The championship level players from all over Texas convened in Tyler at the Ellen Waters Championship Major Zone. The HOTT ZAT in Belton, Tx welcomed players from all ends of the state, with three ATA junior academy players traveling to compete. Coach Stecker, Coach Notis and Coach John traveled with the team to Tyler, while Coach Kendall led the group in Belton.

With a run of five consecutive wins, Ben Smith qualified for Supers by winning his boys 12's draw. Ben knocked off 3 seeded opponents in a row to reach the final, where he found himself down 1-5 in the second set after winning the first. “Ben never gave up, he calmed down and figured it out,” Coach Notis said after witnessing him fight his way back to a second set tie breaker. Ben got down 1-6 in the breaker, when he rallied dramatically to earn 7 consecutive points and win the tournament and qualify for Supers without dropping 1 set.

Payton Holden, also competing in the boys 12's, fought for three wins and a spot in the semi finals where he faced friend and teammate, Ben Smith. “Ben beat him in a very tough match. Both of them played really hard and fought well,” Coach Notis said. “Payton had a great attitude all weekend.”

Megan O’Malley earned a spot in the consolation finals of the girls 12's draw with a difficult three set victory over P. Lanasa 3-6; 7-5; 6-2.

Competing in the girls 14's, Carli Knezevich won four strait matches after dropping her first to earn the consolation draw championship. She outplayed Caroline Wieck in the final with a dominating 6-1;6-0 performance. Allie Carlisle and Smrithi Hariharan also competed in the girls 14's division, gaining important champ level experience. Smirithi fought hard in a close 3 set loss, while Allie went down to K. Shore in a tight 7-6; 6-0 match.

Breck Spencer rebounded from a first round loss to win two matches and earn a spot in the consolation semi-finals. “Breck got better as the tournament went on,” said Coach Notis. Also competing in the boys 14's, Sreyas Mahadevan lost a tough match to his teammate Breck in the second round of consolation.

Greyson Brilliant, the number 4 seed in the boys 14's division, beat Weston Hill 6-1;6-2 to reach the quarterfinal. “Greyson did a really good job of playing within himself,” said Coach Notis. Pierce Kelley also competed in the boys 14's, earning valuable match experience. Neel Kumar won four matches in a row to earn the boys 14's consolation championship with a 6-2;6-0 victory over Robert Raines.

Ryan Burak beat Christian Grau 6-4;6-1 in the boys 16's draw, before going down in a tough 3 set loss. Raymond Traweek fought hard to upset the number 5 seed Trey Wisley first round 7-6;6-0 before going down in his next match.

Christine Shatz earned a spot in the girls 18's draw where she played two matches, ultimately going down to Gae Iwata 6-2;6-2.

At the HOTT ZAT in Belton, Tx, Mikaela Pope competed in the girls 14's where she defeated Nicole Johnson to earn a spot in the quarter finals. Competing in the girls 12's division at the Belton ZAT, Smrithi Mahadevan worked hard to win the consolation championship, defeating the number one seed and ATA teammate Remi Immler in the final 0-6;6-4;11-9.

Jaxon Immler followed a first round loss with four consecutive wins to earn the consolation championship the boys 14's draw. In the final he beat Elijah Price 6-3;6-1.

In the boys 16's draw, James Seward worked to upset the number 5 seeded Graydon Snowden 6-3;6-4 to reach the quarter finals.

With seventeen ZAT and Champ level junior athletes competing this past weekend, the ATA team earned success all over the state. The ATA junior tennis players carried themselves with pride, showing off the hard work logged over the past months, while finding out first hand what it will require to make the step to the next level.

Next up for the ZAT players will be the McFarlin ZAT Oct 4-5(entries close Sep 22nd), while the champ players will go to the Laredo Championship Major Zone(entries close Sept 22nd).

Back to News Summary