Richardson BG 16 and 18 SCMZ

Coach Newman on BG 16 and 18 SCMZ: This past weekend’s superchamp major zone is one of the toughest events of the year.  This four day, feed in consolation and quarterfinal loser consolation tournament tests players both physically and mentally.  Because of the feed-in element, players face progressively tougher and tougher opponents.  ATA players competed well in this long event with many making it to day 3 and one making it to day 4.

Playing on Monday:  Payton Holden, Callie Creath, Avery Schiffman, Kristin Kerrigan, Hunter Bleser, Chase Bartlett, Meghan O’Malley, Alejandro Rodriguez, Harrison Chiu and Alex Mjos.

Callie takes 3rd place!

Callie Creath and Payton Holden reached the semifinals of the main ‘A’ draw in G16 and B18 respectively.  Wilson Hamilton reached the finals of backdraw, played very aggressively all weekend. Alex Mjos played in and won the backdraw of her first 18s B draw tournament. Alex and partner also placed 2nd in B draw doubles.

Alex with partner JC were finalist in doubles!

Austin BG 12 and 14 SCMZ held at ATA

Juan Abboud played some tough matches and got 5th place in B14s A draw. Jett Hampton also made it to Tuesday in the Boys 14s A draw. Kai Canada played a good tournament and took 2nd place in B14s B draw.

Caroline Wernli and Anushka Dania were playing in the G14s A draw and both made it to Tuesday.

James Cockrell took 2nd place in B12d.

James and partner 2nd place A draw doubles

Jake Riezebeek Qualifies for Supers!

Jake places 2nd to Qualify for Supers

Coach John: “Jake played a 3 hour and 45 minute match to qualify for supers.  It was 95 degrees with 85{37ef6ac642fae6f93f343032eb62785d28fa7a25a4a4f0267a12512c541c53a9} humidity.  He just broke his opponent down winning 6-1 in the 3rd set to reach supers.  I was very proud of his ability and willingness to stay out there as long as it takes to win.”

The 16’s and 18’s SCMZ held in Arlington, TX was highlighted with 2 first place titles in doubles and a second and third place finish in singles.

Jesse Wikso and partner Austin dominated their draw in doubles playing a very energetic and great doubles match in the finals. They attacked well, moved a lot at the net and had great hands on defensive. They forced their opponents to go for low percentage shots to try and beat them.

Erik Kerrigan and partner Eric won the 18s A draw doubles. They won a hard fought match in a tiebreaker in the finals 9-8(4).

In the Girls 16 A draw singles, Kristin Kerrigan had a great tournament and made it to the finals of her draw. She lost a heartbreaking and hard fought three set match in the finals.

Jesse Wikso had a couple come from behind wins this tournament to take 3rd place. In the quarterfinals and in his third place match, he lost the first set quick but bounced back and took the next two sets in both matches. He held his composure very well and made some changes in the second sets and then was able to keep the momentum rolling into the third.

Tatum Blalock had a notable tournament for her first G16 superchamp. She won 2 main draw matches in her draw. Coach John said, “Tatum did a great job competing and focusing on the things you can control. That’s the best I have ever seen her compete and her results showed.”

The 12’s and 14’s SCMZ was held in Tyler, Tx and was highlighted with 2 first place titles in doubles, second place in singles and a second place finish in doubles.

Ela Raczka and partner Katherine won the Girls 14s A draw doubles title defeating the Dania sisters in the finals. Ela also had a good showing in singles taking 4th place. She dominated in her first three rounds and Coach Newman said, “lots of learning this summer and it’s showing in her game.”

Caroline Wernli and her partner Jeanette won the Girls 14s B draw doubles title for the second time in a row. They dominated their draw.

Dania sisters Anushka and Megha dominated their doubles draw until they ran into teammate Ela in the finals. They took second place.

Jack Lum took second place in singles B14 B draw. He pulled out a close three set match in the semis and lost in the finals 6 and 3.

Great results from ATA players at the Austin Tennis Academy Glimmer of Hope ZAT tournament this past weekend! ATA had 3 players Champ up from the Austin ZAT. Johnny Snell led the way with winning the B14 draw and only dropping 10 games total the entire tournament! Caroline Horn won the G16 draw beating teammate Lily Gray in the finals to qualify. Keana Moon reached the finals of the G12 draw and had enough points accumulated to champ up.

Abigail Chiu and partner TJ Fumagalli are in the quarterfinals of doubles in San Diego, CA at the National Hardcourts. They have fought through and won 4 rounds of doubles to get to the quarterfinals. They will begin play today at 3:30pm PST and they will face the #2 seeded team.

Click here to see the draw and follow Abigail.

Caroline Wernli is into the quarterfinals of the G12 Singles and Doubles of National Hardcourts held in Alpharetta, GA! In singles, she has not dropped a set in her first 4 rounds. She will face the 4th seed Jackson from Illinois tomorrow at 11:00am. In doubles, Caroline and her partner Emma have won 3 rounds and are in the quarterfinals. They will play today at 2:30pm against the #3 seeded team.

Click on the links below to see the draws and follow Caroline.

Singles draw   Doubles draw

Forbes magazine recently published its top 10 ranking of American colleges.  With Payton Holden’s recent commitment to Princeton University for the Fall of 2017 and Spencer Chiu’s acceptance to Pomona College and Camilla Trapness’ acceptance to Amherst, ATA COLLEGE PREP High School has in the past few months placed students at the #1, #4 and #9 ranked colleges!  Congrats to the Founding Head of ATA College Prep Carol Hagar, the teachers, students and their parents for a job well done!

Click here to see the full list of Forbes college rankings.

Coach Newman on B18s and B16s performances:

In Delray Beach, Grayson Broadus, Chase Bartlett, Payton Holden, Jake Berber and Granville Kaynor played in the USTA Boys 18s National Clay Court championships.  Down the street in Boca Raton Jesse Wilso and Alejandro Rodriguez played in the Boys 16s.

Payton Holden advanced to the fourth round of the main.  Chase Bartlett had a number of good wins.

Not to be outdone, ATA’s 16s had excellent performances as well.  In his 3rd Round main draw match Jesse Wikso battled for two hours in one of the best sets of tennis played at the event. He and his opponent regularly had 20 shot rally’s of high velocity, high quality shots, the tennis played for those two hours would have been welcomed by any play in the finals of the event.

In August of 2014, Alejandro Rodriguez played his first Boys 16s ‘A’ draw.  One year later he is vying for a ball at the Boys 16s L1 clay court nationals.  How is this possible?  The process, while fairly simply, is not easy:  set a goal that really excites you, set up a plan to reach that goal, do EVERYTHING within your power to accomplish that goal.  Alejandro won the Bronze ball for 3rd place at Boys 16d Clay Court Nationals.  He also competed well in 7 singles matches.

Coach Notis on Alejandro’s doubles, Harrison’s singles and Dania Sisters’ Performances:

Amazing energy from Alejandro and Wilson in their doubles.  I watched 2 of their matches and they were on a mission.  Alejandro definitely got out of his comfort zone and played more aggressively than ever.  He and his partner really stepped up in some pressure situations including tie breaks early in the tournament against some very good quality teams.

Harrison won 3 matches at B14s Clays.  He played better and better throughout the tournament showing willingness to dictate play and come forward.

Megha and Anushka really impressed me in doubles with how well they competed against 2 of the very best girls in the country in their age group.  They were not intimidated and showed that they already compete at that level and are only getting better! Anushka won 2 rounds in singles and a round in doubles and Megha won a round of singles and doubles.

Coach Lucie on G18’s Performances:

Abigail competed well, winning a total of 4 singles matches and losing in the round of 16 in doubles in a close 3-set match. Hunter and her partner reached the quarterfinals of doubles.  Camilla, even though she didn’t have any wins, played some of her best tennis and I have no doubt she will be an impact player for her Amherst team.

Also, competing in the G16s, Callie Creath won a round of singles and then lost in a close third set TB.

 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