ATA had a large number of players in the 12’s,14’s and 16’s Zonal Team Championships held all over the nation. Coach Brandon and Coach Kendall were also involved and coached a couple of teams with some ATA players on their team. Here is a few words and highlights from them on the teams that they coached.

Coach Brandon’s Team Highlights from Zonals in Shreveport, LA

Team Texas had a great week at the Boy’s and Girl’s 16’s Intersectionals in Shreveport. It s a phenomenal event where the entire community comes out to support and watch, which gives it a special feel. Pierremont Oaks Tennis Club also does an amazing job hosting and running the event. All players who get the opportunity to play here should jump on it!

Alejandro was the only player from ATA who was on Coach Brandon’s team this year and he had a very solid week helping team Texas get second place! We had a great group of boys and girls who really came together as a team this week. Our team had the best chemistry and spirit out of any of the teams and it proved pivotal in many of our matches. All the members of our team(Jaycer Lyeons, Kevin Zhu, Alejandro, Alex Wesbrooks, Janice Shin, Sydney Jones, Chelsea Kung, and Maddie Hwang) did a fantastic job all week with their attitude and their willingness to take information and improve throughout the week!

In the final against Southern California we lost a really tough 5-4 decision. It had the feel of a collegiate match and was really fun to be a part of. How the format works is there are 3 girls singles matches, 3 boys singles matches, 1 boys doubles 8-game pro-set, 1 girls doubles 8-game pro-set, and one mixed doubles 8-game pro-set and every one of these matches counts for one point. After singles we were trailing 2-4 heading into doubles. We got a big win in the mixed doubles to make it 3-4 with boys and girls doubles left on. The boys were able to win in a tie-breaker but the girls came up against really tough team and couldn’t get the victory. All in all it was an amazing week for our team, we definitely surprised a lot of people and all the credit goes to the players and the spirit they brought to the event.

Coach Kendall’s Team Highlights from Zonals in Waco, TX

Jesse Wikso and Adi Ford were on the team I coached. Our team, Texas B, defeated Florida, Pacific Northwest, Northern and Caribbean teams in round robin play to advance to the finals. We beat The top Florida team 11-7 in the final to win the championship! Both Jesse and Adi were instrumental in that victory, as well as doing a great job all week long. They were both mentally strong and great teammates throughout the event. Our teams energy was awesome and we all had great team spirit throughout the event, which helped in tight situations and close matches. Zonals is a great event and atmosphere and everyone should be trying to get on a team.

Callie Creath and Kristin Kerrigan’s teams were both successful also and they received much praise from their coaches. Annika Pandey got in as on site alternate and played on a PNW team. I know she represented Texas and ATA well for her team.