TEXAS SUCCESSFUL AT JTT 14U  NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

ORLANDO, Fla. – Three teams from Texas were honored at the 2017 USTA Junior Team Tennis 14U National Championships, held at the USTA National Campus at Lake Nona in Orlando, Fla., Sept. 22-24.

Austin Tennis Academy had two teams finish with medals at the National Championships, with the ATA Dream Team finishing second in the 14U Advanced division and ATA Devastators finishing fourth in the 14U Intermediate division. Meanwhile, Dallas Selects were chosen for the Best Banner Award in the 14U Intermediate Division.

The ATA Dream Team fell to the OC Dream Team from USTA Southern California 54-38 in the final. The team is coached by Brian Notis (Dripping Springs) and features team members: Santianna Chrysopoulo (San Antonio), James Cockrell (Austin), Ross Cockrell (Austin), Abigail Gorden (Austin), Lawrence Li (Austin), Kerry Lum (Austin), Alexandra Malysheva (Austin), and Jacob Riezebeek (Austin).

The ATA Devastators lost to a team from the USTA Southern California Section 42-38 in the third-place match, after advancing to the playoffs by going undefeated in group play. The team is coached by Chad Loup and features team members: Savannah Baptiste, Aidan Canada, Sydney Marin, Keana Moon, Jordan Phillips, Devan Sabapathy, and Clark Sweeney. All of the players, with the exception of Sweeney (West Lake Hills), are from Austin.

The Dallas Select team won the Best Banner Award, given to the team with the most creative team banner. On the court, the team finished in eighth place in the advanced division.

The team is coached by Christina Allen and features team memers: Lance Luong (Carrollton), Jeremy Yu (Coppell), Herman Aguirre (Plano), Esunge Ndumbe (Keller), Sarah Allen (Keller), Marcela Lopez (Dallas), Anna Asako (Frisco), and Estefania Hernandez (Plano).

The 2017 USTA Junior Team Tennis 14U National Championships brought together the top 32 teams at intermediate and advanced levels from various USTA Sections throughout the country. This is the first time the event was held at the USTA National Campus.

The National Championships serves as the crown jewel of USTA Junior Team Tennis as the nation’s top teams compete for the title. Each year the USTA crowns a national champion in two age divisions (14U and 18U) in both the Intermediate and Advanced play divisions. 

Established in 1991, USTA Junior Team Tennis provides youth with all of the health and social benefits of tennis in a coed, fun and competitive team environment – all while allowing participants to compete with and against individuals of similar ages and skill levels.

With more than 85,000 players competing nationwide, USTA Junior Team Tennis brings players together to enjoy camaraderie and teamwork, providing a  fun environment for kids to learn that succeeding is really more about how they play the game – win or lose.