November 11, 2008
Two ATA Teams Compete in the 14s Junior Team Tennis National Championships
The Austin Tennis Academy sent two teams to Mobile, Al. to compete in the 2008 14 and under Jr Team Tennis National Championships on Oct 23-26th.
Competing in the 14 and under Advanced category, the ‘Dream Team’ qualified to represent the Texas section at the National Championships, while a second ATA team earned the chance to compete in the Intermediate category. The ‘Austin Tennis Academy Dream Team’ earned 2nd place in the 14 and under National Championships, while the Intermediate team earned 4th place.
Led by Coach Brian Notis, the Dream Team consisted of Josh Hagar, Morgan Barnhill, Maggie O’Meara, Brooke Hughes, Daniel Howell, and Liam Woolley-MacMath. The Intermediate team, led by Coach John Schoenmakers, consisted of Jaxon Immler, Jessica Clouse, Christian Yonge, Meghan O’Malley, Neel Kumar, and Smrithi Hariharan.
“Our players stepped up and played at a very high level and with tremendous passion,” coach Notis said. “They did a great job of picking each other up when they needed to and both teams did a great job of supporting each other.”
USTA Jr. Team Tennis is designed to promote social skills and life lessons by introducing the competitors to the spirit of cooperation and team unity as well as individual self-growth. It brings kids together to compete as a team in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles against other teams.
A match consists of a boy’s and girl’s singles match, a boys' and girls' doubles match and a mixed doubles match with the winner determined by total games won.
The first match of the weekend for the Dream Team was against New England. The ATA representatives won all five of the matches, only dropping one set. The final score in games was a dominating 57-17. Next, they faced Southern who met a similar fate. Team Texas, led by the play of Josh Hagar and Brooke Hughes, won the duel match 53-27. Missouri Valley, their third opponent, was only able to get a combined 13 games in five matches. The final score was 63-13.
The Dream Team faced the Eastern team in the semi final match, winning by a total games of 46-42. Josh Hagar won his singles match 6-1, 6-2 to mark the only individual victory for the Dream Team. By splitting sets in three of the other four matches, the team was able to defeat Eastern in total games and advance to the final round, using the team format to their advantage.
The finals for the ‘Dream Team’ matched Texas against Northern. An injury to Morgan Barnhill put the team down 12 games to start the match.
“We came up just a few games short at the end, but starting in a 12 game hole, the ATA Dream Team put themselves in a position to win the national championship,” coach Notis said. “Josh played on a mission, evening the score with a love and love singles victory against a good opponent.”
The team earned victories at boys singles from Hagar and at girls doubles from the duo of Hughes and O’Meara. The doubles team of Howell and Woolley-MacMath split sets in their match bringing the total games dramatically close. The Northern team came out on top by taking the total games 43-40.
The Caribbean team was the first test for the Intermediate team. Led by the play of Jessica Clouse who earned a win in singles and in mixed doubles with Neel Kumar, the Texas team rose to the occasion and won the match 52-40. New England was the second match for team Texas. The tough team of Hariharan and O’Malley pulled out a three set victory while Immler and Yonge won their boys doubles match. The final score was 52-40 giving team Texas their second win. Against Mid Atlantic, their next opponent, the mixed doubles duo of Kumar and Clouse earned their third straight victory 6-1, 6-1, leading their team to a 57-35 victory.
The Intermediate teams semi final round matched them against Southern California. Neel Kumar earned a straight set victory in his singles match, while Jaxon Immler and Jon Yonge fought for a three set win in doubles. Ultimately Southern California came out on top, taking the total games 51-38.
In their next match, team Texas faced Pacific Northwest. Neel Kumar and Jessica Clouse teamed up to earn a three set win in mixed doubles, while the duo of Immler and Yonge won their doubles match. Pacific Northwest took the other three matches to win by a score of 53-40.
Jr Team Tennis offers junior athletes the opportunity to experience the intensity and pressure of playing for a team while representing your region on a national stage. It is a small taste of what it’s like to play college tennis, a goal shared by many involved.
“I know we've created many lasting memories and our players are fired up to take it one step further next year,”coach Notis said.
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