September 14, 2009
USTA Texas Super Championship Excellence Commences in Dallas
Texas’ top junior tennis players met in Dallas to compete in one of the most prestigious tournaments the state has to offer. At The USTA Super Championship Excellence last weekend, the top 28 players from the most current Standing List were selected from each age division to compete. The top 12 were placed in the main draw with the remaining 16 placed in the Qualifying draw.
The boys’ 18s qualifying draw saw Taylor Shamshiri and Chris Dale each earn main draw spots. Taylor took down Brady Bohrnstedt 6-1, 6-3, then Luke Trautmann 7-5, 6-1. Dale defeated Casey Clark 6-1, 6-2, followed by Matt Ford 3-6, 6-4, 3-0 Ret (inj). Avery Rux split the first two sets against David Salazar, but fell in the decisive third, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3. He then beat Ali Rizvi 6-2, 6-1 in the consolation draw.
“Both Chris and Taylor competed with a tremendous sense of urgency to make the main draw,” Coach Jack Newman said.
Aaron Chaffee beat teammate Josh Hagar first round of the boys’ 16s qualifying draw, 6-1, 6-1. He then fell to David Weiner 7-6, 1-6, 6-3. Charlie Shin dropped his opening match to Carlos DiLaura 7-5, 6-2. Shin and Hagar each earned victories in the consolation. Shin beat Alexander Stoupine 7-5, 6-0, while Hagar defeated Charles Boyce 7-6, 6-2.
Claire Cahill competed in the girls’ 18s qualifying. She went down to Madeleine Murray 6-4, 6-2 in her first match.
Payton Holden played Prince Gbadamosi in the first round of qualifying. The number four-seeded Gbadamosi took the win 6-4, 7-6(13).
Chase Curry came in as the top seed in the boys’ 18s main draw. He beat teammate Chris Dale in the first round, followed by Russell Bader in the quarterfinals. Facing Ben Guthrie in the semi’s, Chase overcame a second set loss to eliminate Guthrie 6-4, 1-6, 6-0. Chase earned second place in his division after falling just short in a battle against A. Van Velzer 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.
Jeffrey Offerdahl fought off the four seed, Tim Kuo, in his first round match 7-5, 6-1. Jose Martinez met Offerdahl in the quarterfinals, where Jeff won 12 of the last 15 games to earn a 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 victory and third place overall. Taylor Shamshiri went down to David Salazar in a hard fought match, 6-3, 0-6, 6-3. He bounced back to beat Gandhi Bhakthavachalam 6-4, 6-4.
In the girls’ 16s main draw, Brooke Hughes fell to the number two seeded Kenna Kilgo 6-1, 6-2 in the first round. In the back draw, Brooke battled Marcelli Magday in three tough sets while coming up just short, 6-7(7), 7-6(2), 6-3. Hughes then faced the three seeded Bailey Vandyke, whom she defeated 7-5, 1-6, 6-3.
Hunter Goertz represented ATA in the boys’ 16s main draw. He faced Tam Trinh in the first round, falling to the eventual finalist 6-2, 6-2. Goertz outworked David Weiner in his next match for a 6-1, 6-2 win. After a second loss, Goertz again rebounded for a win, defeating Coy Dobson 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
The boys’ 14s main draw saw Connor Curry defeat Nicholas Agritelley 7-5, 3-6, 6-0, to reach the quarterfinals. After dropping his next match, Connor fell to the number one seed Christian Vieira 6-1, 6-1.
Sydney Young, competing in the girls’ 14s main draw, faced Allyson Hayley first round. After taking the first set 6-0, Young lost the next two 7-5, 7-6(4). Young earned her main draw spot by taking two tough matches through qualifying/ She beat Courtney Anderson 6-1, 6-4, and Dakota Brown 6-3, 6-4.
Jake Berber earned a main draw spot in the boys’ 12s. He faced Titus Strom first round, falling in a tough three set match 6-3, 1-6, 6-3. Berber bounced back to beat Alexander Poynter 6-4, 6-4, and Dane Esses 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 to reach the consolation final round.
Acceptance to this event alone is a testament to the hard work logged by each of these junior athletes. Look for continued success in this month’s major zones.
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