November 2, 2008
Austin Tennis Academy Welcomes Little Mo Nationals
The Austin Tennis Academy served as host to the Little Mo Nationals on Oct 17-20, welcoming the top 8-12 year olds from all over the country who first qualified through their sectional and regional tournaments.
In 1953 a young girl became the first woman to earn the Grand Slam of tennis by winning all four major tournaments in the same year. After this magnificent accomplishment, Maureen Connolly, eighteen at the time, was given the name “Little Mo”.
Tragically, her career was ended shortly after by a knee injury, but that didn’t slow her down. ‘Little Mo’ dedicated her life to promoting the game she loved. In 1968 she co-founded the Maureen Connolly Brinker Tennis Foundation in Dallas, only to pass away a short time after to a battle with cancer.
The Little Mo Nationals is a tribute to her life of service and proof that her dedication to tennis and influence on the sport still echos more than 40 years after her life.
ATA was represented by three junior athletes who qualified to compete in this years Little Mo Nationals. In the boys’ 11s singles, Jake Berber defeated Eric Tecce 6-1, 6-1 to earn a spot in the quarter finals. After falling to the number two seed, Berber rebounded to beat Nicholas Daly 6-2, 6-3 in the second round of the consolation.
In the boys’ 10s singles, Payton Holden bounced back from a first round loss to beat Alexsander Kovecevic 7-5, 6-4. In his next match Holden battled Mac Kiger in three hard fought sets, ultimately going down 4-6, 6-4, 7-5. In the Girls’ 11s singles, Meghan O’Malley earned valuable experience at the national level, competing in two singles matches on the weekend.
It was fitting that ATA was able to serve as host to the Little Mo Nationals this month, as the mission of our Academy aligns directly with the goal of ‘Little Mo’ to promote her beloved game of tennis and give junior athletes everywhere the opportunity to use the game to succeed in life.
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