2023 Texas Junior Awards Announced

USTA Texas announced its annual junior tennis award recipients on Friday, June 9 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. 

Ten players in total walked away with hardware, as the USTA Section honored junior Texas tennis players for 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.

Gavin Golod of Austin received the Paul Christian Sportsmanship Award and Zoe Young of Spring 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. 

San Angelo’s Rewk Nagel won the Ken McAllister Sportsmanship Award and Austin’s Stella Chambers 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.

Dillon Beckles of Round Rock received the Art Foust Sportsmanship Award while Kenna Erickson of Austin 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. 

Emma Foster of San Antonio won the Zina Garrison Sportsmanship Award, and the Bob McKinley Sportsmanship Award was presented to Allan Xu of Katy. These are each given to a 16-year-old in the boys and girls divisions.

Katy’s Allan Xu also 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. Laila Nguyen of Houston 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.

Finally, Lucas Brown of Plano, who is currently attending the University of Texas at 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. Brown was not present at the ceremony. 

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 800 players competing at over twelve sites, including Southwestern University, East View High School, Georgetown High School and other tennis facilities across Williamson and Travis Counties. The tournament began on Friday, June 9 and concludes with the boys and girls singles finals on Thursday, June 15 at the Southwestern University Martin D. Henderson, Sr. Tennis Courts.

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