Austin Tennis Academy News

September 29, 2009

ATA Enters Four Junior Athletes in Illinois ITF

The USTA ITF Junior Circuit is a series of over 300 tournaments through the year in close to 115 different countries. The events are designed for junior athletes aged 18 and under looking to compete against peers with similar high-level goals in competitive tennis. Last week 4 of Austin Tennis Academy’s top junior athletes traveled to Illinois to compete in a Grade 4 ITF tournament.

Chase Curry and Jeffrey Offerdahl left a lasting impression in both singles and doubles of the boys’ 18s division. Each earned quarterfinal births in the singles draw, then joined forces to make the final four of the doubles draw.

Curry, coming in as the number thirteen seed, opened play with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory over R. Putterman. In the second round, Chase convincingly beat E. Livi, 6-1, 6-2. The third round matched Curry against the number three seed, D. Sirota of Russia. Curry came up with his second come from behind victory, 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 to advance to the quarterfinals.

Offerdahl’s opening round pitted him against Canada’s R. Shulman, whom he defeated 6-2, 6-3. The number six seed, R. Raman of Indiana awaited him in the second round, with Jeff earning the upset 6-2, 6-3. The number nine-seeded E. Johnson was his next opponent. Offerdahl fought for his third straight victory, beating Johnson 6-2, 6-3 and joining teammate, Curry, in the quarterfinals.

The dangerous duo of Curry and Offerdahl then teamed up to take on the doubles draw. In their first match, they eliminated McCoy and Sneddon 7-5, 6-3. They faced Loutsenko and Sherpa in the second round, fighting for a decisive third set tiebreaker to win the match 4-6, 6-1, 10-6. The quarterfinals again forced the ATA teammates to come from behind, and again they were up to the task, winning 4-6, 6-3, 10-7 to earn a spot in the semifinals.

"Chase and Jeff continue to show that they are two of the best players in their age group in the country,” Coach Jack Newman said.

Also earning a spot in the boys’ 18s draw, Aaron Chaffee gained valuable experience against some of the top players in the age group. He faced the number nine seed E. Johnson in his first round match, falling 6-2, 6-2.

"Aaron has put himself in position to get exposed to a very high level of competition and this will only help continue his rapid development,” Newman said.

Abbie Lewis represented ATA in the girls’ 18s draw. She opened play with a dominant win over Canada’s M. Dandik 6-1, 6-2. In the second round Lewis faced the number three seed S. Kuykendall, whom she battled in a hard-fought loss, 7-5, 6-3.

"Abbie Lewis showed that she is fully capable of competing at this level,” Newman said.

Look for these and other ATA junior athletes to challenge themselves against the top competition around, and prove that they belong amongst the best.

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