Coach Newman recommends the following article, “Moving on from Sports: A College Athlete’s Greatest Challenge” by ESPN’s Prim Siripipat. The article is about using life skills gained in playing sports at a high level and using them in life after college. Click here to read this article Coach Newman recommends.
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!
Sessions
Summer Grand Slam Camp – June 6-10 – (SuperChamp Only)
Please join us on Thursday April 14th at 8pm for one of Growing Champions for Life’s most popular webinars – Teach Your Child the Best Kept Secret of Self-Confidence
Click here to register
ATA had 4 players this past week compete in the National Spring Team Championships, Abigail Chiu, Harrison Chiu, Callie Creath and Anushka Dania. Congrats to Abigail and Callie for helping their team, Firecrackers, come away with a bronze ball finish!
Earlier this year, Coach Newman invited six ATA alumni members who work in Austin to participate in a panel discussion so current ATA students could see how some of the life lessons they are learning have been applied in real life. The goal of having current ATA students witness firsthand the powerful outcomes that result through the positive processes the ATA program offers was accomplished in a powerful way through this panel discussion. Many of the ATA coaches who attended were impressed by the articulate and insightful nature of the comments shared by the alumni members. Through the stories they shared, each of the alumni members communicated that the ATA culture and the process of competing in junior tennis had been their primary driver of success.
Many of the alumni members contributed specific thoughts on the qualities they learned from junior tennis and ATA that has helped them succeed in the workforce. Ryan Berber, who was on the tennis team at Claremont McKenna and is currently an Investment Associate at Nicoya Capital, said he learned how to stay calm under pressure through competing in junior tennis and that he never gets rattled in his job. Santiago Montoya, who played for Notre Dame and now serves as Chief Investment Officer for A Glimmer of Hope Foundation, talked about learning how to rebound from failure since most tennis players lose frequently. This resiliency has helped Santiago in his professional career. Whitney Waters, who earned All-American honors at University of Redlands and currently serves as the Director of Marketing for AlertMedia, shared how learning how to lose with humility has been invaluable given the fact that you lose deals in business. Blake Davis, who played in the starting line-up all four years at Florida State and now serves as an analyst for Elberon Investment Fund, talked about how the competitiveness that was his biggest strength in tennis has also allowed him to enjoy professional success. Blake got the attention of the ATA students by telling a poignant story about his first job out of college with Wells Fargo’s Investment Banking division. Blake shared that despite the fact that the vast majority of the people who were in the year-long training program were Ivy League graduates, more than 50{37ef6ac642fae6f93f343032eb62785d28fa7a25a4a4f0267a12512c541c53a9} of his colleagues could not handle the rigorous demands of the program and either quit or were fired. Blake attributed his competitiveness and desire to win at everything he did for allowing him to succeed in the training program, while many of the Ivy League graduates couldn’t handle it.
The panelists also shared their most significant takeaways from being in the ATA program that have benefitted them after their tennis careers ended. Santiago Montoya mentioned how his discipline was shaped at ATA and is now infused in his core. Santiago, like several other panelists, also talked about the goal setting he learned under Coach Newman. Whitney Waters emphasized learning to put the process of pursuing excellence in tennis over result outcomes, as well as the real life applications in terms of learning to appreciate the journey. Claire Cahill, who earned All-American honors at Washington & Lee and currently serves as a Business Analyst for Bazaarvoice, told an inspiring story of how she had to come back to her ATA roots to get her college tennis career moving in the right direction. Following Claire’s sophomore year at Washington & Lee in which she did not play in the starting line-up, Claire decided she needed to step up her commitment and return to her disciplined training habits by spending the entire summer doing morning and afternoon practices at ATA under the guidance of Coach Newman. The net result of Claire’s hard work and dedication was earning All-American honors at the end of her junior year after playing in the doubles and singles line-up the entire season. Claire attributed her remarkable turnaround to the hard work she put in at ATA the summer before her junior year.
Many of the alumni members said the thing they valued the most from their experience at ATA was the life-long friendships they formed there. ATA coach Brandon Davis, whose collegiate career at the University of Illinois was highlighted by reaching the NCAA Finals in 2007, shared that “the friends I made at ATA are still my best friends and we have been in each other’s weddings.” Brandon also urged the current players to take advantage of the opportunity to create their own special relationships during their time at ATA.
The most poignant example of a lasting relationship that began at ATA was that of alumni members Whitney Waters and Ryan Berber who recently announced their engagement.
Given the inspiring nature of the stories shared by the alumni members that reinforce the life lessons the ATA coaching staff is trying to instill in our students, there will be more of these panel discussions in the future.
Congratulations to Caroline Wernli, who ages up tomorrow to Girls 14s. Caroline is ending her 12s career being ranked #1 in Texas for the past 8 months and #15 in the nation. She is already #10 in Texas in 14s. Happy Birthday Caroline, all your hard work and dedication is showing.
Over the past two years, ATA’s fitness program has risen to a new level that separates it from other programs through the addition of pilates and on-court tennis specific fitness training that complement the existing strength and conditioning program that is based on the C.H.E.K. system (Corrective, High-performance, Exercise and Kinesiology). Dio Miranda, who serves as the Director of Fitness for ATA, has created a culture that discourages the no pain-no gain philosophy that can hurt players by instead encouraging them to train in a safe way with appropriate form and technique in a functional environment. The flexibility and range of motion of ATA students are also addressed through specific stretches that are assigned based on individual assessments. In addition, players are educated on sleeping and hydration patterns, and customized nutrition programs are offered through metabolic typing such as blood type diets. An increasing number of ATA players are also taking the next step by adding private training sessions that are customized for what the individual players needs following a comprehensive assessment. In addition to Coach Dio, athletes training at ATA now have the option to have private fitness sessions with newly hired Josh Rifkin as well as pilates sessions with Lucie Schmidhauser.
The ATA fitness program has benefitted by adding pilates exercises that are aimed to improve core strength, muscle tone, flexibility and posture. Coach Lucie Schmidhauser, who is comprehensively certified through Peak Pilates, is available for private sessions using the Pilates Reformer as well as group mat classes. The most recent addition to the ATA Fitness team is Josh Rifkin who brings a new focus to tennis specific fitness training based on his experience as a high level junior and collegiate tennis player along with the knowledge he gained by studying under Pat Etcheberry, who is the most renowned fitness expert in the tennis industry. Etcheberry has trained Pete Sampras, Jim Courier, Justine Henin, Monica Seles and many other accomplished tennis professionals. Coach Josh was also exposed to some of the best tennis coaching minds while training for the professional tennis tour. According to Coach Newman, “it is a huge benefit to our players to have a fitness trainer who played tennis at a high level and has a strong foundation in fitness through the highly respected C.H.E.K. Institute.” The basis of what Coach Josh does with his on-court tennis specific training is from his Pat Etcheberry Training Certification. The core of this on-court training is tennis specific footwork patterns and movement patterns that athletes actually use on the court. These movements are strengthened by using resistance bands and medicine balls to improve tennis performance. Josh also utilizes drills that enhance power, strength, endurance and conditioning while also improving agility, acceleration, direction change, recovery and racquet head speed. This type of tennis specific training complements general performance enhancement training. It should be noted that Coach Josh is also available for performance enhancement training sessions in the gym.
Coach Dio has trained professional baseball players from 9 different Major League Baseball teams, and he firmly believes ATA’s fitness program rivals that of most Major League teams. Whether players are training with Coach Dio for strength and conditioning, Coach Lucie for core strength enhancement through pilates exercises or Coach Josh for tennis specific movement patterns, all three energetic coaches deliver high level tennis specific fitness training that allow players to reach the next level of performance.
ATA Alumni Andrew Parks Earns Player of the Week Award
Air Force Academy senior and ATA alumni Andrew Parks went 4-0 this past weekend to earn player of the week award for the Mountain West Conference. He also earned his first career win over a nationally ranked opponent! Congrats to Andrew! To read more on his weekend results click here.
ATA players comprehensively dominated their respective draws at last weekend’s SuperChamp Excellence tournament held in Austin and Corpus Christi.
Abigail Chiu captured the Girls 18s A draw in impressive fashion the week after she won Doubles Excellence. After notching a straight set victory over the #1 ranked player in Texas in the semifinals, Abigail played her best tennis in the finals against the #6 ranked player in Texas, Sydney Riley, who recently signed to play at Clemson. According to Coach Doug Davis, “Abigail was mentally tough throughout the three set battle and she used an effective blend of aggressive baseline play combined with smart defensive play and well timed advances to the net to secure the victory.” Naval Academy signee Meghan O’Malley also had a strong performance by reaching the 18s B draw semifinal and Alex Mjos staged a dramatic comeback in the finals of the 18s C draw over teammate Kristin Kerrigan. As was the case with Abigail Chiu, Alex Mjos had considerable momentum coming into this tournament after winning the 16s A draw Doubles Excellence title the week before.
In the Boys 18s A draw, Princeton signee Payton Holden showcased his brilliant shot making abilities in reaching the semifinals. Another highlight of the Boys 18s A draw was the epic four hour battle waged between ATA teammates Erik Kerrigan and Jake Berber that Erik won 6-7, 7-6, 7-6 in the longest match of the tournament. According to Tournament Director, Brian Notis, “both teammates displayed great spirit and tremendous respect for each other.” Numerous spectators commented on how Erik and Jake acknowledged each other’s great shots and how they frequently engaged in friendly banter in between points. This was ATA valued sportsmanship at the highest level, according to Coach Notis. Equally noteworthy, the Boys 18s B draw was highlighted by Chase Bartlett courageously fighting his way to two victories despite having to serve underhanded throughout the tournament as a result of an injury. The Boys 18s C draws were dominated by Jesse Wikso and Roger Chou. Despite both of them playing up an age group, Jesse and Roger were able to win their respective draws in convincing fashion.
The Girls 16s A draw produced a semifinalist, Georgia Wright, and the tournament champion, Callie Creath. Coach Brandon Davis said “Callie played some of the best tennis I have ever seen her play; she was fully committed to owning her aggressive game style and it paid off.” Coach Brandon also noted that Callie’s opponents in the semifinals and final had beaten her the previous two times. Coach John Schoenmakers was equally encouraged by Georgia’s more aggressive play and increased pace on her groundstrokes that contributed to her semifinal finish. It should also be noted that ATA newcomer Kailey Chase, who is beginning to reap dividends from her hard work and openness to coaching, reached the semifinals of the 16s C draw. Kailee Meyer’s improved focus in practice is also starting to pay off with a semifinal result in her respective 16s C draw.
Tyler Anson’s steady hard work over the past 12 months is also beginning to yield impressive results as shown by winning his 16s B draw. Coach Newman noted that it was the first tournament he has seen Tyler “in full-out competitor mode, pumping his fist, encouraging himself, and holding himself as if he believed he was the best player in his draw.” Juan Abboud, who just moved up into 16s this month, continued his winning form by capturing 5th place after knocking out the #1 seed in his 16s B draw. And Kyler Bender did a great job of bouncing back and winning three consecutive matches in his 16s C draw.
The Boys 14s A draw saw a breakthrough performance by Blaine Kanak. In his quarterfinal match, Blaine fought back from down a set and down 1-4 in the second set to defeat the #4 seed in a third set tiebreaker. Blaine followed up with another great performance in the semifinals, narrowly losing after yet another epic battle. Coach Notis attributes Blaine’s breakthrough to his improved poise and focus as well as his newfound willingness to utilize tactical discipline. Blaine’s doubles partner, Max Schmidhauser, finished strong in the 14s A draw after losing a three set heartbreaker in the first round. Max bounced back with excellent mental toughness to win three consecutive matches against higher ranked opponents. In the Boys 14s C draw, Matthew Gavrilov had another strong tournament by reaching the finals.
In the Boys 12s A draw, James Cockrell showed he is a top player in Texas winning his first round and then being 2 points away from taking the first set against the #1 player in Texas. In his third round, he dominated the match and made quick work of his opponent. His last match, he lost a close three set battle 7-6(8) in the third. According to Coach Kalapala, “James competed very well and is making big strides mentally when the matches are tight.”
Two of the youngest girls in the Academy program also showed encouraging progress at Excellence. Sasha Malysheva showed signs of her vast potential by reaching the semifinals of the G12s B draw. According to Coach Rifkin, “Sasha plays beyond her 11 years with excellent focus, intensity, energy and mental toughness.” Kerry Lum, who only super-qualified in December, continued her rapid improvement by winning 3 matches in the Girls 12s B draw. With younger players like Kerry and Sasha making great strides, ATA’s future is indeed bright.
G16 Doubles Summer Grand Slam Champion
Capturing the Girls 18s doubles title at last weekend’s Excellence tournament is yet another accomplishment in a storied junior career filled with a variety of other significant doubles titles that Abigail Chiu has earned in sectional, national and international competition.
Abigail first made her mark as one of the premiere doubles players in the country by winning a Bronze Ball at the Girls 12s Hardcourt Nationals in 2010. This victory was the beginning of a remarkable string of USTA Balls in doubles including winning a Silver Ball at the Girls 14s Winter Nationals in 2012 and a Gold Ball at the Girls 14s Easter Bowl in 2013 that highlight just a few of Abigail’s accomplishments in national competition. Abigail has also distinguished herself in international doubles competition by reaching the finals of the prestigious Eddie Herr tournament in 2012 as well as winning 3 ITF titles in Paraguay (2013), Daytona Beach (2013) and in her hometown of Austin (2015). However, perhaps the best indication of Abigail’s dominance in doubles was represented by her earning the #1 ranking in USTA National girls 16s doubles. Abigail’s impressive body of work in doubles is best summed up by ATA Head Coach, Doug Davis, who has served as Abigail’s primary coach for the past 4 years: “Abigail Chiu is the winningest player in ATA history in doubles events on an annual basis with a varied range of partners in every level of junior tennis in the US.”
Abigail’s doubles skills have also served her well with college coaches during her recruitment process. College coaches prefer recruiting players who are not only good singles players (Abigail has earned the #1 singles ranking in Texas in 12s, 14s, and 16s), but also accomplished doubles players. Coach Lucie Schmidhauser, who has traveled to many national tournaments with Abigail over the past 2 years, recalled an insight Paul Wardlaw, Brown University Head Women’s Tennis Coach, shared with her while watching Abigail and her partner dominate their opponents at Claycourt Nationals in July: it is easier to make great doubles players into valuable singles players than the other way around. This may be one of the reasons Abigail has been heavily recruited by Brown, Columbia and Dartmouth while also being seriously considered by Harvard. Coach Lucie is confident that “Abigail will be a force to be reckoned with in Division One college tennis with her attacking mindset, superb volleys, quick reflexes, and strong fundamentals.”
Please join David Benzel on Thursday Feb 18 at 8pm for a 45 min webinar “Three Steps for Getting Your Athletic Family on the Same Page.” Click here to register.
Also, there is a new Winners Connection article, “The Only Two Questions You Need to Ask Yourself.” Click here to learn more.
A much beloved ATA “Lifer” recently celebrated his college signing ceremony with family, friends, coaches, teammates and ATA community members applauding his accomplishment of gaining acceptance to his “dream” school. During his signing ceremony speech, Jake Berber shared: “Claremont McKenna College was my top choice because it’s one of the strongest liberal arts colleges in the country, the tennis team is the reigning Division 3 National Champions and the students there are the type of people who will help me grow as a person.” Jake should be well prepared for the challenges of being a student-athlete at one of the most selective liberal arts schools in the country given his many years of balancing the rigors of ATA’s training schedule with the challenging academic workload at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School.
Jake has enjoyed a number of significant tennis accomplishments over the course of his stellar junior career. The consistency of his singles results stand out as Jake earned a Top 5 ranking in Texas in the 12s, 14s and 16s age divisions while also being ranked Top 50 in the nation in these respective age groups. Despite these impressive accomplishments in singles, Jake says the highlights of his junior career were achieved with his long-standing doubles partner and ATA teammate, Payton Holden, when they won the 16s Summer Grand Slam title and then topped this accomplishment 2 months later by reaching the quarterfinals of the National Hardcourt Championship in Kalamazoo, Michigan. In fact, Jake and Payton were only 3 points away from advancing to a semifinal berth in the National Championship while playing in front of a huge crowd on stadium court. In Jake’s words, “it was a memory that will forever stay with me.”
Jake’s 13 year journey at ATA has left a legacy that will be cherished for years to come and his joyful presence will be deeply missed. Coach Newman, who has served as Jake’s primary coach for most of his junior career, summed up Jake’s legacy perfectly: “in addition to being a great competitor, Jake possesses the qualities we would all like to have in a best friend as he is kind, thoughtful, emotionally intelligent, calm in the face of chaos, and a supportive teammate.”
ATA recently hired new academy and fitness coach Josh Rifkin, who is from Fort Wayne, Indiana and who has been involved with competitive tennis his entire life. Following his junior career, Josh became the winningestmen’s tennis player in the history of Ithaca College, as well as the first ever Division III All-American in doubles at his college.
Josh’s journey with ATA began in the summer of 2011 after deciding he wanted to pursue a professional tenniscareer. After some research, he came across ATA and took a visit. Immediately after visiting, he felt a strong connection and knew this was the place he wanted to train. After about one year of training, and gaining a great deal of elite level tennis knowledge, Josh decided to take a coaching job back home in Fort Wayne. Throughout his time at ATA, Josh found a passion in the integration of tennis coaching and training for tennis performance enhancement. As a result, he realized he wanted to give more to his students than just tennis. This led Josh to begin pursuing an education andcareer in the health and fitness world. This new career path led Josh to founding his own private health and fitness business where he primarily worked with competitive junior tennis players.
Josh’s relationship with ATA did not end after he decided to go back home to take the teaching job in Fort Wayne. In fact, Josh visited ATA at least once a year to reconnect with the coaches and continue to learn and grow as a tennis coach and fitness professional. During Josh’s most recent visit in September 2015, he was offered an opportunity to become a part of the ATA coaching team.
This was a difficult decision for Josh, as he had established himself with a coaching job and a fitness business back home in Fort Wayne. The decision came down to where Josh thought he could personally and professionally grow the most. A big factor in the decision making process was the players and coaches he would be able to work with, as well as the unique culture ATA has to offer. When Josh came to train as a 22 year old, and when he recently accepted the job offer at 26, he felt a warmness and family environment at ATA that is not easy to come by. The tight knit culture, emphasis on values, character building, community and concept of “living the sport”made the decision a smart one for Josh. It is where he felt he could live his passion of combining his desire to share his love of tennis and fitness while continuing to learn andgrow as a professional.
At ATA Josh will be coaching the academy players and will work with the junior academy and junior development programs. In addition, Josh will help run the academy fitness program. He will also be giving private tennis lessons as well as private fitness training sessions.
Josh’s credentials include:
B.S. Ithaca College
C.H.E.K. Practitioner Level II (Corrective High Performance Exercise Kinesiology)
United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) Elite Professional
Certified Etcheberry Coach (Strength, Conditioning and Movement in Tennis)
National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM)- Performance Enhancement Specialist
C.H.E.K. Holistic Lifestyle Coach Level II
Erik Kerrigan and Jake Berber – both had their signing ceremonies last night which were held in the ATA fitness center. They were surrounded by their families, as well as the ATA community to help them begin their transition to college.
Erik Kerrigan signed his National Letter of Intent with the University of Chicago. He will play tennis for the Maroons starting in the Fall. He also received an academic scholarship for his outstanding SAT score of 2350! The university has a 7.8{37ef6ac642fae6f93f343032eb62785d28fa7a25a4a4f0267a12512c541c53a9} acceptance rate and only 10 percent of the accepted students get scholarships. The University of Chicago is ranked #4 according to US News and has had 89 Nobel Prize winners. Coach Strecker and Coach Newman shared stories about Erik and his time at ATA, congratulating him on the accomplishments he has had in his junior career thus far. Erik also stood up and thanked his family, coaches, friends, teachers at College Prep and the ATA community for supporting him through his journey at ATA.
Jake Berber signed his National Letter of Intent with Claremont McKenna College. He will play tennis for the Stags in the Fall. Jake’s brother and Coach Newman are both alumni of Claremont McKenna College. Forbes ranked Claremont McKenna as the 6th best liberal arts college and 18th best college in the nation. Claremont has 1,349 students with a 9.7{37ef6ac642fae6f93f343032eb62785d28fa7a25a4a4f0267a12512c541c53a9} acceptance rate. Coach Brandon and Coach Newman had many stories to share from Jake’s experience at ATA since Jake was 5 years old. Coach Brandon knows the Berber family well, as he grew up playing tennis with Jake’s older brothers. Coach Newman had a few stories from his time at ATA but really spoke for Jake’s character. He was told that Jake was one of nine recruits for the Stags. When his future teammates had to pick who they wanted for a teammate, Jake was number 1 on all the players lists. Jake makes friends wherever he goes and is very well liked because of his calm, friendly and understanding personality. Jake has been a top 50 nationally ranked player since he was 12 years old. Combining his tennis abilities and his character, the Stags will have a great future teammate. Jake thanked his family, coaches, friends and ATA community for helping him get through some tough times and also sharing good times throughout his experience at ATA.
Congrats to both Erik and Jake on their accomplishments and their bright futures at their respective institutions!
Under the guidance of Coach Newman and Coach Notis, 17 players represented ATA at the USTA National Winter Championships in Phoenix (Boys and Girls 16’s&18’s) and Tuscon (Boys and Girls 12’s&14’s).
Boys 12’s – James Cockrell
Girls 12’s – Sasha Malysheva, Caroline Wernli
Boys 14’s – Juan Abboud, Harrison Chiu
Girls 14’s – Anushka Dania, Megha Dania
Boys 16’s – Jesse Wikso
Girls 16’s – Callie Creath, Kristin Kerrigan
Boys 18’s – Chase Bartlett, Jake Berber, Payton Holden, Erik Kerrigan, Alejandro Rodriguez
Girls 18’s –Hunter Bleser, Abigail Chiu
Several ATA seniors distinguished themselves in the 18’s draw of Winter Nationals. Payton Holden rebounded from a first-round singles loss to win 5 matches in the consolation draw and finish in the Top 24. Hunter Bleser defeated a #17 seed in her first-round singles match whom she lost to a few months ago. Perhaps more importantly, the Head Coach of University of Virginia (where Hunter will be attending this fall) told Coach Newman that he was excited about the improvement Hunter has made in her game since the summer. Erik Kerrigan also advanced himself with his future coaches at the University of Chicago by upsetting the #3 seeds in doubles with his partner Eric Morris. Another senior, Jake Berber, also stepped up and reestablished himself as a national level player by winning 2 singles matches in the backdraw.
Juniors Abigail Chiu and Alejandro Rodriguez advanced their recruiting status with college coaches from some of the most academically elite Division I schools in the country. Abigail won 2 matches in the main draw of singles and cemented her reputation as one of the premier doubles players in the country by reaching the quarterfinals of doubles. According to Coach Newman, “Abigail advanced herself with coaches from Harvard, Columbia, Dartmouth, Brown and Princeton by competing with a great attitude and showcasing an excellent game style.” During the tournament, Coach Newman had multiple conversations on behalf of Abigail with the Head and Assistant Coaches from Harvard, the Dartmouth Head Coach and the Assistant Coaches from Columbia and Brown. Despite being the last player accepted into the 18’s draw after working his way up the alternate list, Alejandro grinded his way to 3 singles victories in the backdraw, including a win over a #17 seed. According to Coach Newman, “Alejandro helped himself through his outstanding fight and hustle with the Head Coaches from Columbia, Harvard and Northwestern who watched his matches.” Coach Newman made time to have multiple conversations on behalf of Alejandro with each of the coaches from these elite universities.
In addition, Coach Newman spoke to many other college coaches about underclassmen such as Jesse Wikso, Kristin Kerrigan and Callie Creath to lay the groundwork so these coaches know our players before it’s time to be recruited. For example, Coach Newman has already started the college process for 9th grade Blue Chip recruit Jesse Wikso who competed evenly with the #1 seed in the second round before losing 3-6, 4-6 and then went on to win 2 matches in the backdraw. While Coach Newman is at major national tournaments, he is also talking to college coaches about players who are not at the tournament but who might be a good fit for their school down the line. Through Coach Newman’s long-term approach of developing relationships with college coaches, he is able to open doors and facilitate the college process for ATA players aspiring to compete beyond high school.
In the 14’s draw, Anushka Dania won 3 matches in the consolation bracket after losing her first-round match. Coach Notis remarked on “Anushka’s amazing defensive skills, superior ability to anticipate and intelligent use of variety to keep her opponents off balance.” Harrison Chiu also rebounded from losing his 1st round singles match (to one of the top players in the country) to win 2 matches in the consolation bracket. But it was Caroline Wernli who shined the brightest in Tuscon in the 12’s draw. Caroline finished in the Top 12 in singles and capped her outstanding tournament by earning a SILVER BALL in doubles with her partner Zoe Hammond from Oklahoma. Coach Notis was blown away by the fact that “Caroline and Zoe played an aggressive brand of doubles finishing many points at the net.” Although Caroline lost a three-hour battle in the round of 16 in singles, Coach Notis was impressed with Caroline’s “unmatched tenacity, consistency, excellent use of the entire court and fighting spirit.” On another promising note, 11-year-old Sasha Malysheva, in her first Level 1 National Championship, demonstrated that she will become a huge threat at the national level in years to come. After watching Sasha begin the tournament by winning her 1st round singles match against a girl she had lost to six months ago, Coach Notis was impressed with Sasha’s “poise and ability to dictate with her aggressive play.” The future is indeed bright for ATA with young players like Caroline and Sasha leading the charge!
Get a ton of tennis in over break and sign up for ATA Winter Camp that is starting Dec 28 and goes through Jan 1. Click here to learn more and sign up.
Caroline Wernli had a outstanding event. She was the runner up in G14 A draw singles, won the G14 doubles, and won the sportsmanship award. Doesn’t get much better than that.
Jesse Wikso won both of his B18 B draw singles and doubles.
Callie Creath won the G18 B draw doubles.
Other notable results from this past weekend:
Jake Riezebeek has been stepping up his game and got 4th place in B12s B draw, this is his 2nd tournament in a row that he has reached the semi finals.
Sarah Darbar had a great tournament and got 2nd place in G14 B draw doubles and reached the quarters in singles.
Andrea Stapper, Meghan O’Malley, Blaine Kanak, Kailey Chase and Synclair Larson all have the same goal in mind this year and it is to Win State! These 5 ATA players are all on Vandegrift’s tennis team, which is the first tennis team in school history that is going to the state finals. Vandegrift has had a record breaking season with going 163-0 in districts, which broke the district and the school record. Their team catch phrase is “That’s what you want!” The players are fired up and ready to compete to win. The team will begin their journey to claim the state title with play starting on Wednesday at 11:30 at Texas A&M University varsity courts. They will play College Station A&M consolidated in the semi-final match. The matches are played with doubles first followed by singles, the first team to win 10 matches wins the duel.
Click here for more info and to follow their results.
Vandegrift’s regional t-shirts supporting Wounded Warriors Foundation. Vandegrift was named after Matthew Vandegrift who served and died in Iraq.
