March 12, 2009
Dallas Hosts Champ Major Zone; Spencer and Kumar Super-Qualify
Fifteen of ATA’s championship qualified juniors traveled to Dallas this past weekend to compete in the Spring Break Shootout Junior Championship Major Zone. Accompanying the team were coaches Newman, Martinez and Collins.
Neal Kumar and Breck Spencer both won their respective boy’s 14s draws, advancing each of them to super champ status. Spencer fought for five straight wins without dropping a set to take the title of the White draw. After a first round bye, Kumar claimed four matches and the Blue draw championship.
"Both Breck and Neel had fantastic tournaments; both had tremendous energy throughout each match and deserved to win," Coach Newman said.
After dropping her first round, Kate Cahill won three straight matches to claim the consolation championship. In the finals she defeated J. Raines 6-2, 6-2.
“Kate played outstanding tennis on Sunday. She showed determination and a will to win that would not be denied,” Coach Collins said.
Also competing in the boy’s 14s, Matthew Milliken defeated D. Douglas first round 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 to secure a spot in the round of 16. Conor O’Meara took down Thomas Whitehead in his first round match, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, also earning a spot in the round of 16. Sreyas Mahadevan beat Jordan Gibbs 6-1, 6-4 in his first match. He advanced to the quarter finals. After falling first round, Pierce Kelley rebounded to beat Robert Carder 3-6, 7-5, 10-6. Rohan Makhija also responded well from a first round loss by earning two tough wins and a place in the consolation semi finals.
In the boy’s 12s, Eric Kerrigan earned three straight wins after falling first round to claim a spot in the consolation finals. He beat W. Agritelley 7-5, 6-2 in the semi finals.
Arti Bhat beat P. Trebisky 6-4, 7-6 in the first round of her girl’s 12s draw, earning her a spot in the round of 16. Remi Immler won three tough matches after losing her first round to reach the consolation finals. She beat E. Bender 6-2, 6-4 in the semi finals. Meghan O’Malley defeated A. McKissick 6-1, 7-6 in her opening round match, earning her a spot in the round of 16.
Garrett Callen competed hard in two tough matches over the weekend.
In the girl’s 14s, Allie Carlisle claimed two tough wins to reach the quarter finals. She defeated E. Chen 6-4, 6-2 in her second round. Smrithi Hariharan defeated J. Groenow 6-4, 6-2 to advance to the round of 16.
Mental toughness and determination are prerequisites for any successful tennis player. The ATA athletes who consistently leave the court with the balls possess these qualities, and bring them to the practice court or the gym each and every day. Look for these junior athletes to build on this success in next months major zones.
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