ATA alumni Ashley Ford, a sophomore at Millsaps won her conference’s (Southern Athletic Association) player of the week award this past week. Ashley went 4-0 at #1 singles and doubles for the weekend helping her team win both matches to close out their regular season. Click here to read more
Long time friends, high school tennis teammates and doubles partners Emily Cotton and Raven Hampton – both had their signing ceremonies Thursday night, which were held in the ATA fitness center. They were surrounded by their friends and families, as well as the ATA community to help them begin their transition to college.
Emily Cotton signed her National Letter of Intent with the Trinity University. She will play tennis for the Tigers starting in the Fall. Coach Segovia spoke on Emily’s brutal honesty at times and her loyalty. Emily is also very involved with FFA and has a very demanding schedule each day. Emily also stood up and thanked her family, coaches, friends and the ATA community for supporting her through her journey at ATA. She also had everyone laughing at a few stories from ATA team trips.
Raven Hampton signed her National Letter of Intent with Chapman University. She will play tennis for the Panthers in the Fall. Chapman is a top 7 ranked university in the West. Coach Brandon spoke on Raven’s character of being a caring and a leader/captain of her Lake Travis High School team. Raven thanked her family, coaches, friends and ATA community for sharing good times throughout her experience at ATA.
Congrats to both Emily and Raven on their accomplishments and their bright futures at their respective institutions!
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
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 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.”
As we begin a new year, ATA players will be setting their goals for 2016. One of our former students, Kendall Dabaghi was recently written up in Forbes magazine. This got me thinking about our players of the past, many of whom have set and accomplished high goals.
If you walk around the ATA campus, you will see many banners recognizing players from our past.
In case you have not heard about some of these historical moments, I have included a top 10 listing of ATA players and their accomplishments from the past:
(1) Ashley Weinhold (currently playing on the WTA tour) wins Girls 18s National Hard Courts in singles and receives a wildcard into the main draw of the US Open where she played the #4 seed on Louis Armstrong Stadium. Ashley also won 16s Clay Courts in singles the year prior.
(2) Jamie Friedland’s thirty-one match national tournament winning streak in singles catapulted his national ranking in Boys 16s from #156 to #6. The highlight of this winning streak was Jamie winning 9 matches in the back draw and winning consolations of Winter Nationals.
(3) Brandon Davis (former student-athlete and current ATA coach) wins Texas Grand Slam (TGS) 16s singles title and then wins TGS 18s singles title the following year. Brandon went on to play in the NCAA Finals his junior year at the University of Illinois.
(4) Stephanie Kusano wins back-to-back singles titles in 18s at TGS, and later went on to lead Cal-Berkley to the NCAA semifinals her senior year.
(5) Josh Hagar (currently in his junior year at Notre Dame) goes from not having any scholarship offers worth considering due to being injured 9 months of his junior year to receiving offers from Notre Dame, Northwestern, Harvard, Princeton and Rice the following year. Josh went on to star at Notre Dame, playing line #2 singles by his sophomore year.
(6) Josh Hagar launches the Playing for Glimmer campaign and raised $150,000 for Glimmer that funded 5 wells, 1 reservoir, a health post, and 2 schools. This inspired Breck Spencer to create and spearhead the Walk for Water event that raised over $20,000 two years after the Playing for Glimmer campaign was initiated.
(7) Eliot Blatt gave $4,000 of his own Bar-Mitzvah money to fund a well in Ethiopia, and then raised an additional $10,000 in donations for A Glimmer of Hope.
(8) Payton Holden (current ATACP student-athlete) sweeps the 16s Singles and Doubles Titles at TGS.
(9) Abigail Chiu (current ATACP student-athlete) wins Easter Bowl 14s doubles title and then reaches the doubles finals the following year in Girls 16s.
(10) After overcoming three knee surgeries, Blake Davis grinded his way to a 6th place finish at 18s Clay Court Nationals and later earned a full scholarship to Florida State University where he played Line #2 Singles and Line #1 Doubles for most of his career. Upon graduation, he landed a premier job with Wells Fargo Wealth Management division.
An inspiring fact supplied by Coach Brandon Davis: during the first year of ATA while we were building this facility and training players at Barton Creek Country Club, Stephanie Kusano, Brandon Davis, Blake Davis and Ashley Weinhold swept the following Super Champ titles in their respective age groups: Excellence, Corpus Christi SCMZ, Dallas SCMZ, and TGS.
With this firepower in our past, we look forward to charging the current and next crops of ATA tennis athletes to reach high for their tennis goals.
Happy New Year!!
Jack Newman
CEO
Austin Tennis Academy
