Victoria and Abigail G18s doubles finalists!

Coach Carrie on Raven qualifying through Champ Masters:

Raven Hampton qualified for the G18’s Grand Slam through winning 2 singles matches on Friday in the Champ Masters tournament. She competed very well but really stepped it up in her 2nd match Friday. She was running down every ball and gave it her all to win a close first set and then put the girl away in the 2nd! She has lots to build on coming away from this tournament after playing against a couple good supers in the Grand Slam.

Coach Newman on boys 18s group and girls 16s group:

ATA boys 18’s group, with Payton Holden leading the pack making it to the quarterfinals in singles.  A total of 30 wins for ATA B18 players.

ATA girls 16’s group, while not in the final matches a lot of players had solid performances winning many matches and beating higher seeds. Total number of G16 matches won 28 matches.

Coach Lucie on some standout performances from players she watched this weekend: 

Caroline Wernli had an excellent tournament, winning Girls 12’s doubles draw with her partner Emma Staker and finishing 2nd in Girls 12’s singles.  Her excellent results catapulted her into a #1 ranking in Texas in her age division!!! Caroline continues to work extremely hard on and off the court and it’s really showing in her results.

Adi Ford, after struggling over the past few months in tournament play, had an excellent tournament, winning 4 matches in her Girls 16’s draw and competing extremely well.

Georgia Wright also won four singles matches in Girls 16’s, competing with grit and passion.

Loli Perim and Alex Mjos reached semifinals of Girls 16’s doubles losing to the eventual champions.

Coach Brandon on some standout performances from players he watched this weekend:

Alejandro Rodriguez had a great tournament, reaching the semifinals in singles and doubles! He did a great job of competing throughout the event. His hard work and consistency continues to pay dividends for him and it was a great start to his summer schedule.

Chase Bartlett played some excellent tennis as he worked his way through many matches in the back draw. His competitive fire was fun to watch! You could see him get better and better as the tournament went on. He really played himself into the tournament and it was a very solid event for him.

Callie Creath had a great event making the round of 16 in singles and quarterfinals of the back draw. She held herself very well and competed hard even when things were not going her way. She beat a player she had never beaten before on her way to the round of 16! It was a great start to her summer schedule of tournaments.

Kristin Kerrigan also had a great event making the round of 16 in singles and the semifinals of the back draw. Kristin beat a player who beat her 6-0 6-0 just a few months ago! Kristin was playing with very good clarity and competitive fire and it showed in her results.

Jake Berber did a great job of working his way through the back draw into day 7 after a tough first round loss. He overcame the rain delays, moving indoor and outdoor, and shortened format to earn a very good result that put him in position to make every national tournament moving forward!

Jesse Wikso played some really good tennis throughout the event, just coming up a little short in his main draw match against Allen. He is very close to being able to win that tournament! He did a great job of moving through the back draw and winning quite a few rounds. His clarity of how he wanted to play was very good and he continues to be a great competitor on the court.

Loli Perim had a great event! She beat a girl in convincing fashion who had beaten her three times this year and made it to the round of 16. She is really hitting her stride and playing some great tennis.

Alex Mjos and Loli had a breakthrough event in doubles reaching the semifinals! They beat a high seed in the quarters to advance to the semis and played some really great, aggressive doubles in the process. They have all the tools to be a perennial contender for doubles titles in their age division.

Abigail Chiu and Victoria made it to the finals before running up against a very strong team! They show amazing composure and fight in the quarterfinals losing a big lead but overcoming adversity and eventually winning the match. It was very high energy and exciting to watch!

Coach Eric on Blaine’s and Max’s fighting performances:

Blaine Kanak chose the right time to lift his level of tournament play at the Grand Slam by winning a hard fought 3 set match in the first round followed by an outstanding performance against the #2 seed who went on to win the tournament. Although the score was not close, Blaine felt great about how he competed in this match. Blaine also demonstrated an improved ability to compete with focus and grit by winning 2 more singles matches in the backdraw before losing a closely fought battle to a player who was ranked #1 in Texas in Boys 12s last year.

Max Schmidhauser reached the quarterfinals by defeating a #5 seed in Boys 14’s who previously beat him convincingly due to the fact that he was given excellent game plan through insightful advice from Coach Tres Davis, Coach Doug Davis and Coach Newman. This upset would have never happened without this “spot on” coaching input.

Coach Luka on Max’s performance:

Max Schmidhauser did an amazing job on the competing part and keeping a positive attitude. He did a great job beating JC and put up a good fight against number 2 seed. Even when the opponent was serving for the match he still got up from the bench and ran to his side yelling “Let’s go.” That type of attitude doesn’t come easy.  He always believed he has what it takes to beat all the guys in the draw. Was a pleasure watching him compete his butt off all week!

Coach Vince on the Dania’s:

Anushka and Megha Dania made it to the semifinals of G14s doubles after playing a great/smart match in the quarters against 2 strong players.

Caroline Wernli and Emma Stacker G12s doubles winners!

This Summer, your child can take advantage of the Austin Tennis Academy’s tennis camps to progress at a rapid rate. These camps are designed to provide the greatest development of your child’s physical, mental, technical, and tactical performance levels. Sign up now for a full week or a single day, 1st week of camp is June 15th! Click here for more info and to register

We recently received an update on the Gonok Village deep borehole well project.

Over the past few months, REST (a Relief Organization of Tigray, and regional non-profit partner of the Glimmer of Hope Foundation) has worked with the Gonok community to establish a WASHCO, which is a very small unit of government created to take care of the water project and a tabia-level board for the new Deep Bore Hole well. The WASHCO includes 10 community members and the tabia board consists of experts on water supply, agriculture and rural development, health institutions, women’s affairs, education, and farming.

This is important because in the past we have not had this level of structured management around our DBH projects. While there has been a WASHCO associated with Glimmer water schemes, the new WASHCO is larger and has defined responsibilities. The tabia board is a new addition to Glimmer DBH project management, and it will help the Gonok community manage the day to day activities associated with the DBH and also act as an advocate for the Gonok community if there are issues that need to be escalated to the woreda level, such as major repairs.

The community has opened a bank account for the DBH, in which the woreda and the community deposit money into as well as any tariffs collected after the DBH is in use.

This is interesting because the money has been collected upfront, which shows that the local government and community are strongly committed to the project!

The project continues to move forward and we are excited to see the conclusion of this massive project in sight. The following will be happening in June and July:

• Site clearing for water distribution points
• Purchasing and supply of local materials, like sand and gravel
• Bidding process for solar pump
• Trench excavation and pipe installation for water distribution network
• Construction of water reservoir stand

Thursday evening the ATA community honored Conor O’Meara, as he signed with DePaul University to join their men’s tennis team for Fall 2015. DePaul University is a Division I school in Chicago, Illinois. He will be pursuing a degree in film. Congratulations Conor!!!

DALLAS 12’s and 14’s

Coach Newman on notable player performances he watched this weekend.  

Harrison Chiu finished 4th in B14 ‘A’ draw, very competitive in matches he lost.  He will compete for sectional title.

Max Schmidhauser scrapped his way to victory in B14 ‘B’ draw, competed extremely well with calm demeanor and great sportsmanship!

Jack Lum playing Monday tennis, extremely clear about his game style.

Megha Dania won the backdraw in G14s ‘A’ draw for her second SCMZ in a row.

Coach Lucie on notable player performances she watched this weekend.

Caroline Wernli won her 2nd straight singles SCMZ in girls 12’s A draw.  She is getting better and her game style is becoming more aggressive.  She handled being the #1 seed with poise and fought her heart out in every match.

Sarah Darbar had a break-through tournament in doubles, winning the girls 12’s A draw with her partner.  Sarah and her partner were impressive with their attacking game styles and their command of the net.

Lily Schiffman got 4th in her singles 14 B draw, winning several matches in match tie breakers, showing consistency and grit.

Ela Raczka and her partner won Girls 14’s A draw doubles crown, dominating the field!

HOUSTON 16’s and 18’s

Coach Brandon on notable player performances he watched this weekend.

Callie did a great job at this event. She beat two girls she had never beaten before and got 5th place in the Girl’s 16s A draw! She really took a step forward in her ability to play committed tennis in difficult situations, and it paid off. I am looking forward to what her summer has in store for her!

Kristin was very close to having a big breakthrough tournament. She lost two extremely close matches against higher ranked players along with winning 2 back draw matches. She is on a great path and I know she will be making some waves throughout the summer this year!

Grayson had a good event winning a three hour war in the QF against a very solid player then turning around and barely losing the SF against eventual winner Aron Pierce. He just ran out of gas in the hot and humid weather but I thought he did a great job of setting himself up for success at Summer Grand Slam.

Bailey did a fantastic job of battling through a shoulder injury and winning his back draw on Monday. He was in a lot of pain and won a difficult match and it was gutsy! I was proud of his performance.

The 12 and under intermediate Junior Team Tennis team, ATA Devastators, took 2nd place in the Texas section this past weekend in New Braunfels! The team played 4 team matches and only dropped 4 sets out of 20.  Gabrielle Flores also took home the Sportsmanship Award for the event, voted on by the opposing teams. ATA also had their 10 and under team, ATA Smashers, competing in the USTA, Texas sectionals.

Pictured above (left to right) Devan Sabapathy, Jake Riezebeek, Neha Dania, Keana Moon, Gabrielle Flores, Adi Iyer, Ross Cockrell and Coach Carrie.

This Thursday May 14th the Men begin and Friday May 15th the Women begin the round of Sweet 16 of the NCAA Team Tennis Championships. Baylor University is hosting the event, which will see the top 16 Men’s and Women’s teams converge on Waco to determine the best team in the nation. Both Men’s and Women’s semifinals will be on Monday, May 18th.

Click Here to find out more

ATA Academy players and Westlake High School students Julian and Marcus Sweeney teamed up to earn their way into the Texas UIL State Tennis Tournament.

“It’s fun playing with Marcus because since I am the big brother, I’m calling the shots and running all of the plays,” Julian said. “The most challenging part is keeping our energy up, which is one of the most important things in doubles.”

The duo won four matches at District and another 5 matches at Regionals. With two teams from each Region qualifying, the Sweeney brothers will be one of just 8 teams from across Texas to compete for a State title.

“The most fun thing about playing with my brother is that I know that no matter if we win or lose, I know that we will remember whatever happens for the rest of our lives,” Marcus said. “The most challenging is that on the court, we don’t always get along, and it requires a lot of teamwork to work through the challenging times.”

The Sweeney brothers will take the court at the State Tournament on May 12-13 in College Station, TX. Good luck, boys!!!

ATA CEO Jack Newman was part of a USTA focus group with outgoing player development head Patrick McEnroe as well as director of men’s tennis Jay Berger.  In addition, representatives from the USTA Texas Section and five other coaches from Texas participated in the discussions about TEAM USA tennis, the USTA player development plan to develop US tennis champions.

Newman and McEnroe pose for a picture.

The 2015 USTA National Spring Team Championships unfolded last week, with two ATA players coming home with hardware. ATA teammates Caroline Wernli and Abigail Chiu stayed aligned in Alabama as they competed together to bring home a highly cherished Bronze ball.

“This week in Mobile was something I’ve never experience in junior tennis,” said Abigail. “The team aspect and energy was so special to be apart of, and I’m so happy to have earned third place with our team, the Diamondbacks. I am very excited to bring home a bronze ball, not only for myself, but along side my ATA teammate Caroline.”

Abigail, pictured second from left, and Caroline, fourth from left, pose with their teammates. 

The tournament brings together 256 of the best juniors from around the country with 32 boys and 32 girls representing each age division – 12s, 14s, 16s and 18s. Players are then assigned to 32 teams that include 16 boys and 16 girls and one team coach selected by the USTA.

The event begins with two days of training and education, followed by four days of competition. The Spring Team Championships is a National Level 1 Ranking Tournament – the pinnacle of USTA National competition.

Abigail and Caroline pictured third and second from the right.

Congratulations to all of the players who made it to this prestigious event, and good luck in the upcoming tournaments!