Austin Tennis Academy News

June 26, 2009

ATA Enters 38 Athletes in Texas Summer Grand Slam

The Texas Summer Grand Slam is not only the pinnacle of junior tennis in the Texas section, it is the largest tournament the United States has to offer as far as matches played.

This weeklong event hosted 37 ATA junior athletes who competed in singles and doubles, many of whom advanced deep into the draws.

Brittany Brewster battled through the girl’s 14s singles and doubles draws, earning second place in both categories. She rallied for five straight singles wins, while teaming up with Claire Williams to earn four victories in doubles. In the doubles final, Brittany lost to teammate Morgan Barnhill, who, along with partner Peggy Porter, took the doubles title. Barnhill earned two singles victories for a spot in the round of 16.

Brooke Hughes fought to earn five straight wins and a spot in the semi finals of her girl's 16s draw. She defeated Kelley Anderson 6-4, 6-1 in the quarter finals. After falling to the top seed, Brooke bounced back to win her next match and take third place.

Dylan Ritter fought through the week to earn fourth place in the section in boy’s 12s.

“Dylan played with tremendous energy and confidence to knock off two top ten players who he had never beaten before in the round of 16 and quarters,” Coach Notis said.

Dylan also teamed up with his brother Zane in the doubles draw where they knocked out two seeds on their way to the semi finals. Zane opened singles play by defeating Mario Jelev 6-2, 6-0 to reach the round of 32.

Charlie Shin won his first four singles matches to reach the quarter finals. He defeated teammate Hunter Goertz in the round of 32, 7-6(2), 6-3. Shin also logged five straight doubles victories with partner, Wiggins before losing a tightly contested doubles final. Hunter beat Joshua Izzard 6-1, 6-1 for his third straight singles win.

“Hunter and partner Justin Winton also reached the semi-finals of the doubles before falling to eventual champions Reichmann and Narayana,” Coach Notis said.

In a three and a half hour marathon match, Josh Hagar defeated Kyle Plum in the round of 32 for his third straight win and a spot in the main draw round of 16.

“Josh showed tremendous fight and courage stepping up his game in the latter stages of the third set,” Coach Notis said.

With partner Martell, he also reached the round of 32 of the boy’s 16s doubles draw.

Blake Davis won three matches to reach the round of 16 of his boy’s 18s draw. He then logged three wins to reach the semi finals in the consolation draw. The duo of Davis and Russell Bader went to work in doubles, taking five straight matches and the draw championship.

“Blake showed tremendous determination, fighting through a shoulder injury to win an extremely high level 3 set doubles semi-final against teammates Chase Curry and Jeffrey Offerdahl,” Coach Notis said. “He and Bader followed that up with a dominant performance in the finals after dropping a close first set.”

Chase Curry also reached the round of 16 of singles play with three tough victories. Jeff started strong in singles with two dominant victories to reach the round of 32.

Jake Berber beat Collin Alexander 6-1, 6-1 in his first round of singles. After dropping a close second round match, Berber bounced back to win three more matches in the consolation draw. Jake joined forces with teammate Payton Holden for doubles, together earning an epic first round victory 9-8(3) over Koduru and Legg storming back from 0-5 and 1-6 down. Payton rebounded from a first round loss to log three back draw wins.

After falling in her first round match, Allie Burak logged three tough wins on her way to the third round of consolation. She then shared the court with teammate Molly Fisher for doubles where they fought for a 9-7 first round victory. Molly faced Sarah Durham first round, who she defeated 6-2, 6-3.

Abigail Chiu defeated Maria Batchinsky 6-1, 6-2 in her first round match. She then joined teammate Meghan O’Malley for doubles, where they fell 4-8 in their first match. Meghan played hard in two tough matches in the tournament.

Carli Knezevich battled to win her first round match 6-4, 6-2 against Marlee Cutbirth. She then fell to teammate and eventual finalist Brewster. Maggie O’Meara responded to a first round loss by winning three straight matches in the consolation draw. She then partnered with Sydney Young for doubles where they won their first round match 8-4. In singles, Sydney beat Priyanka Chandraker 6-2, 6-4 to reach the round of 32.

Connor Curry showed his bounce-back ability by fighting for four consolation wins after falling first round. He also earned two doubles victories with partner, Fumagalli. Breck Spencer and Ben Smith earned valuable high-level experience in three matches in the tournament.

Abby Lewis beat S. Bowman 6-2, 5-7, 1-0(8) in her first round match. After dropping her second, she fought for three wins to reach the consolation fourth round. Claire Cahill beat Nicole Goswami 6-1, 6-0 in her first round of singles. After falling in her second match, she fought for two more victories. Kate Cahill earned valuable experience in two tough singles matches. Along with partner, Mantano, Kate logged a first round doubles win, 8-4.

Avery Rux beat Ben Jordan first round, before falling to David Holiner in a battle 6-4, 6-4. Chris Dale won two tough rounds in the main draw of boy’s 18s. He defeated Warren Race in three sets to reach the round of 32. Donny Hackett beat Alejandro Tajonar 6-4, 4-6 1-0(8) in his second match. Taylor Shamshiri took down Aaron Dial 6-0, 6-4 to reach the round of 64 in singles. He then logged two consolation victories after dropping his second match.

Elliot Blatt, competing in the boy’s 16s, defeated Parker Shultz to reach the round of 64. After going 1-1 in the main draw, Aaron Chaffee found his stride and ran for six straight wins in the consolation draw. Raymond Traweek and Ryan Burak each competed hard in three matches throughout the week. Conor O’Rourke beat Aaron Chaffee 3-6, 6-4, (6) to reach the round of 64. He then teamed up with Austin Mayo to reach the round of 32 of the doubles draw. Austin worked for his first round victory in singles, 7-5, 7-5 over Andrew Parks. Matthew Sparks claimed his first two singles matches to reach the round of 64. In doubles, he and partner Rob Steinwedell logged a first round win over Caire and Menon. Rob took down Kyle Davidson 6-3, 6-3 for a first round singles victory.

The Sectional tournament is a staple of Texas junior tennis in the center of the summer heat. The weeklong event allows the ATA athletes to showcase not only their hard work on the court, but also their dedication to strength and conditioning as well as mental preparation, all of which are necessary to succeed at Sectionals.

Back to News Summary