Texas

2022 Texas Junior Awards Announced

June 13, 2022
Some of the 2022 USTA Texas Junior Awards recipients.

USTA Texas announced its annual junior tennis award recipients on Sunday, June 12 at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. The players were recognized as part of The Texas Slam, a week-long tournament featuring over 800 competitive juniors from across the state. 

 

Eleven players in total walked away with hardware, as the USTA Section honored junior Texas tennis players or their tennis prowess, as well as their sportsmanship on and off the court. Awards are presented to outstanding juniors across four age brackets in both boys and girls divisions during the event’s player recognition party.


“As we all know, sportsmanship is very important in tennis,” said USTA Texas Executive Director Van Barry to hundreds of players and parents at the event. “It’s really the lifeblood of our sport. One of the neat things about tennis is when you’re on the court with your opponent, you have to work together to have a great match.”

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Allan Xu of Katy received the Paul Christian Sportsmanship Award and McKenna Boyett of Austin received the Barbara Smith Sportsmanship Award. Each trophy is awarded to a 14-year-old boy and girl, respectively. Chosen by players in the tournament, both awards highlight players demonstrating outstanding sportsmanship and fair play. 

 

Dallas’ Bryan Li won the Ken McAllister Sportsmanship Award and Missouri City’s Evania John took home the Emily Schaefer Sportsmanship Award. These awards each honor a 12-year-old boy and girl selected by the players at The Slam tournament.

 

Lathan Skrobarcek of Helotes received the Art Foust Sportsmanship Award while Cody Huang of Plano received the Maureen Connolly Brinker Award. These awards honor an 18-year-old boy and girl respectively for outstanding sportsmanship and fair play both on and off the court, with the final selection being made by the players at the tournament. 


Chloe Brissett of Houston won the Zina Garrison Sportsmanship Award, and the Bob McKinley Sportsmanship Award was presented to Dillon Beckles of Georgetown. These are each given to a 16-year-old in the boys and girls divisions.

Cypress’ Elliott Awomoyi won the John McFarlin Outstanding Sportsmanship Award, presented to the outstanding junior boy in Texas for his exceptional performance, a willingness to work with up-and-coming players, cooperation and proper respect, and a sportsmanlike and competitive spirit. Stela Sifuentes of Eagle Pass earned the Mary Lowdon Outstanding Sportsmanship Award, which honors an outstanding junior girl in Texas who has shown exceptional ability, a good ranking, a willingness to work with up-and-coming players, cooperation and proper respect, and a sportsmanlike and competitive spirit.

 

“This award means so much to me,” Awomoyi says. “Sportsmanship is a huge part of tennis, thank you to everyone who believed in me and got me here.”

 

Finally, Kinaa Graham of Austin earned the Chuck McKinley Outstanding Player Award, honoring a USTA Texas junior tennis player who achieved the most outstanding results at the National and/or International level, during the previous calendar year.

 

The Texas Slam tournament is the largest junior tennis tournament in Texas and one of the largest in the country. The event has headlined the USTA Texas junior schedule for over 20 years. This year’s event, hosted in Georgetown, Texas, includes over a thousand players competing at over fourteen sites, including Southwestern University, Georgetown Tennis Center, Georgetown High School and other tennis facilities across Williamson County. The tournament began on June 11 and concludes with the boys and girls finals on June 16 at the Southwestern University Martin D. Henderson, Sr. Tennis Courts.

 

For more information about the tournament, visit www.thetxslam.com.

 

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