August 13, 2009
USTA Zone Team Championships Welcomes 13 ATA Athletes
The USTA Zone Team Championships, held over the first weekend in August, is considered a Level 2 National event. A player gains enter to this event by receiving a sectional endorsement. Austin Tennis Academy was represented by 13 of its' top junior athletes who competed on nine different teams.
"Zonals is a team format event where players represent their USTA section (in our case, Texas) against other sections around the country in college style dual matches, with on-court coaching. This is a favorite event of many players around the country including many of our ATA players who love the team aspect of this event, said Brian Notis, 14's Team Texas head coach and coach for the Texas D team."
Team Texas Aggies, with ATA representatives Dylan Ritter and Abigail Chiu, earned the zonal championship competing in the 12s division. Dylan Ritter led the team with a 5-0 singles record and a 3-1 doubles record. Abby Chiu compiled a singles record of 2-3 and a doubles record of 2-2 through the tournament.
In the finals the Aggies faced Team Texas Raiders, led by three ATA athletes in Jake Berber, Zane Ritter and Payton Holden. Competing at line 1 singles, Dylan defeated Tillman Haynes 6-2, 6-7, 6-1. Dylan's brother, Zane, also earned impressive results with a 4-1 singles record and a 3-1 doubles record. Payton Holden helped his team reach the finals by also accumulating a 4-1 singles record while going 3-1 in doubles play. In the finals went down to Zeb Zheng 6-3, 6-2. Jake Berber went undefeated in singles, defeating Gianni Mancini, 6-4, 7-5 in his final match. Berber fought to go 5-0 in singles and 3-1 in doubles.
Remi Immler represented ATA on Team Texas Longhorns, logging a 1-4 singles record and a 3-1 doubles record through the tournament. She took down Kelly Reger of the NO Gophers 7-5, 7-5, in her final singles match.
Waco Regional Tennis and Fitness hosted the 16s division USTA Zone Team Championships. ATA was represented by 6 junior athletes on four different teams.
Hunter Goertz played for the Texas B team, earning a 4-1 singles record and a 3-2 doubles record. In his final match he beat Michael Morris of the Texas A team 6-4, 6-0, helping his team win the overall championship.
Brittany Brewster fought for a perfect 10-0 record through the tournament, 5 wins in singles and 5 in doubles, to lead her team to the final round. She defeated Ryan Brown of Texas B 6-4, 6-4 in her last match. Her teammate, Josh Hagar, earned record of 4-1 in singles and 4-1 in doubles for the Texas A team. He took down Naveen Beasley 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 in his final match, with the team narrowly missing the overall championship.
The Texas C team showcased Charlie Shin and Aaron Chaffee. Chaffee fought to go 3-2 in singles play and 5-0 in doubles. He defeated Clint Golman of the Pacific Northwest B 6-3, 6-1. Shin competed hard in ten matches, earning a win against Paxton Deuel of Pacific Northwest B, 6-4, 6-1.
Charlie Shin and Aaron Chaffee pose for a photo with their Zonals teammates.
The Texas D team's lone ATA representative was Taylor Shamshiri. Earning a record of 3-2 in singles and 4-1 in doubles, Shamshiri had logged a successful weekend. He defeated Eastern B's Kyle Berman 6-2, 6-7, 6-0 in his final singles match.
The 14s division Zone Championships were held in Florida, competing at The Naples Tennis Club and Resort. Connor Curry, Allie Carlisle and Breck Spencer represented ATA in the 14s.
Competing on the Texas D team, Connor Curry went 1-5 in singles play and 2-2 in doubles. He beat Ryoma Haraguchi of the Eastern D team 6-1, 4-6, 5-2. Allie Carlisle also represented ATA on the Texas D team, while Breck Spencer played on the Texas B team, each competing in nine matches through the tournament.
Look for these junior athletes to continue their success both sectionally and nationally in the coming months.
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