Austin Tennis Academy News

March 26, 2009

46 ATA Junior Athletes Compete in Spenco ATA Spring Open

Austin Tennis Academy was well represented in this past weekends Spenco ATA Spring Open, entering 46 athletes who earned three draw championships and many more performances of which to be proud.

Josh Hagar, 15, played up an age division in the boy’s 18s Q draw. Hagar fought to earn four straight wins to claim the championship. In the finals he faced teammate Chris Dale. After splitting the first two sets, the match fittingly went to a third set tiebreaker. While Dale fought off multiple match points, Hagar proved to be too tough, taking the match 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(6).

"Chris competed very well in this tournament, while his A game was not 100%, his competitive skills were an A plus,” Coach Newman said. “Josh Hagar played the best tennis of his life so far in this event. He has really stepped up to compete on the 16s national level with a much improved forehand weapon to complement his already potent backhand."

In the girl’s 16s Q draw, Sydney Young, also playing up an age division, won three straight matches to earn her draw championship. She defeated K. Buck in the finals 7-6(2), 6-3. After dropping her first round match, Maggie O’Meara earned two wins to take the consolation crown. She took down L. Wilkerson in the finals 6-1, 6-1.

Jaxon Immler ran through his boy’s 16s NQ draw without dropping a set. He beat Bryan Whitten 6-1, 6-4 in the finals to take the title. James Seward defeated T O’Hara 6-0, 6-2, earning a spot in the semi finals. Liam Leddy beat Apollo Tran 6-1, 6-0 to reach the quarter finals.

Chad Howland and Michael Holder each reached the semi finals of their boy’s 14s NQ draw. Holder defeated R. Castillo 7-5, 6-4 in his quarter final match, while Howland took down M. Ravelo 6-2, 6-1 to secure a semi final spot.

After dropping her opening round match, Mikeala Pope responded by taking two tough wins and the consolation crown. In the finals she defeated C. Camp 7-6(4), 6-3.

In the girl’s 14s Q draw, Carli Knezevich earned two tough wins to reach the semi finals. She defeated T. Fumagalli 6-1, 6-4 before falling in a hard fought three set match to the number one seed L. Robinson. Jacqueline Patterson beat Lainey Hutchens 6-3, 6-2 to reach the round of 16. Smrithi Hariharan beat T. Bujnoch 6-4, 6-2, also earning a spot in the second round.

Ela Raczka earned valuable tournament experience in two matches in her girls 10s draw. Cierra Yudell won two straight matches to reach the finals. She beat M. Almazan 8-5 in the semi’s. Julia Patterson rebounded after a first round loss to take two matches and win the consolation championship. She beat A. Lagrange 8-5 in the finals.

Also in the boy’s 18s Q draw, Charlie Shin won three matches to be one of three ATA athletes with a semi final spot. He defeated Brandon Davis 6-0, 6-4 in the quarter finals. Conor O’Rourke defeated Kyle Slabaugh 6-0, 6-1 to reach the round of 16. After falling first round, Donny Hackett was forced to withdraw due to an injury.

Tyler Anson took down Nicolas Cusano 8-4 to earn a spot in the semi finals of his boy’s 10s draw. Kyler Bender played well in two tough matches, earning valuable tournament experience.

In the boy’ 12s NQ draw, Zach Kenezevich responded to a first round loss by taking two tough wins and reaching the consolation semi finals. In the quarter finals, he defeated M. Tan 6-1, 6-0. Tyler Wilkie, also rebounding from a first round loss, took down the top seeded J. Lee to reach the consolation semi finals. Ankith Kandikonda earned high-level experience in two tough matches over the weekend.

The girl’s 12 NQ draw saw Smrithi Mahadevan defeat C. Zilveti 7-5, 6-3 to reach the semi finals. Danielle Cuteri took down K. Murrell 6-2, 6-3 to advance to the quarter finals.

In the boy’s 16s Q draw, Aaron Chaffee won two matches to reach the quarter finals. He beat L. Fumagalli 6-2, 6-0 in the round of 16. Raymond Traweek beat b. Buckley for his second win and a place in the quarter finals. Neel Kumar defeated Ashish Kulkami 6-2, 6-1 in his first round match.

Ben Smith won two matches in his boy’s 12 Q draw, placing him in the semi finals. He defeated Sanjit Kumar 6-1, 6-2. Kumar took down J. Hernandez in his first round match. Eric Kerrigan beat A. Rodgers 7-6(7), 6-4 to reach the quarter finals. Rahul Gorti beat B. Launius 6-2, 6-4, also advancing him to the quarter finals.

Remi Immler defeated S. Gillas 7-5, 6-2 in her first match of the girl’s 12s Q draw, placing her in the semi finals. Meghan O’Malley beat Sindhu Ravula 6-4, 6-4, earning her a quarter final spot. In her first girl’s 12s qualified tournament, Haarika Somarouthu played in two tough matches over the weekend.

The boy’s 14s Q draw held six ATA representatives. Conor O’Meara defeated Jacob Frisbie 6-2, 7-5 to reach the round of 16. Joshua Minor beat Z. Williams 6-1, 6-0 for his second win and a spot in the quarter finals. Andrew Levitan beat B. Errington 6-4, 6-1, advancing him to the quarter finals. After falling in a tough three set match first round, Matthew Milliken defeated B. Errington 6-2, 7-6(5) to reach the consolation semi finals. Sreyas Mahadevan and Pierce Kelley played hard in two tough matches.

With close to 370 entries and 46 ATA athletes, this past weekends Spenco ATA Spring Open was a huge success. Look for the athletes of all ages and skill levels to excel in next months major zones throughout the state.

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