15th Annual Pro-Am Shootout – ‘One Of Our Best Ever’
The 15th annual Austin Tennis Academy Pro-Am Shootout brought the ATA community together last weekend, featuring a banquet on Friday evening and a pro-am Calcutta-style tennis tournament on Saturday.
“This year’s SHOOTOUT was one of our best ever,” ATA CEO Jack Newman said. “The dinner and auction was exciting. The PRO-AM tennis was competitive. Players, coaches and patrons all had a fun time competing in tennis. Great Weekend!!!”
The weekend benefits the Austin Athletic Scholarship Foundation, which helps support deserving student-athletes who are pursuing a disciplined lifestyle to reach their highest level of accomplishment.
The Friday-night banquet, hosted at the Sonesta Hotel, featured a cocktail hour with silent auction items on display, followed by a presentation and live auction over dinner.
Jeff Blatt opened the evening by presenting a check to the A Glimmer of Hope Foundation‘s Donna Berber as part of the ATA’s continued support of the organization.
Later, the annual named scholarships were handed out and each of the recipients were honored.
Here are the 2015-2016 scholarship recipients:
Esmerelda Werbeck Scholarship – Kristin Kerrigan
Lindsey Pereira Leadership Scholarship – Hunter Bleser
Roger Gubser Scholarship – Callie Creath
Sterling Wilson Scholarship – Kyler Bender
Cameron Dabaghi Scholarship – Erik Kerrigan
On Saturday, the community hit the courts for a day of competitive team-tennis amongst friends and family.
At the end, it was Leftys Rule, a team led by Estevam Strecker and Charlie Shin that finished in first place. Strecker commented on the weekend overall.
“Anytime we can focus on doing something for someone else it is a great thing,” Strecker said. “I enjoy going to sleep knowing that my day mattered, that in a very small way I made a difference in someone else’s life. The Shootout is a really cool opportunity to accomplish that. Tennis is the greatest sport on earth and I dedicated my life to it, so being able to use tennis to improve the lives of people in need is an extremely rewarding thing.”
If you would still like to contribute to the Austin Athletic Scholarship Foundation there is still time! Also – don’t forget about the raffle for the 2016 Jeep Wrangler!
Tickets are still available. Just contact Deb Cahill at Deb.Cahill@AustinTennisAcademy.com.