TEXAS TAKES HOME THE HARDWARE AT THE JTT 14U NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Dallas Select, representing the USTA Texas Section, swept the 2018 USTA Junior Team Tennis 14U National Championships, capturing both the Advanced and Intermediate national titles. The event was held at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla., Nov. 2-4.

The 2018 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.

In the Advanced championship match, Dallas Select defeated their USTA Texas rivals from the Austin Tennis Academy, 47-42, avenging a loss in the USTA Texas Section Championship. The Dallas team was awarded a wild card into the National Championships.

Dallas Select defeated a team from Indianapolis, 50-37, in the Intermediate final.

In addition, Sarah Allen from the Advanced team won the Sportsmanship Award, which is given to one boy and one girl from each division who received the most votes from his/her opponents throughout the tournament for displaying good sportsmanship.

Both teams are coached by Christina Allen. The Advanced team features team members: Herman Aguirre (Plano), Sarah Allen (Keller), Marcela Lopez (Frisco), Esunge Ndumbe (Keller), Morgan Pyrz (Plano), and Jeremy Yu (Coppell), as well as assistant coach Ling Yu.

The Intermediate team features team members: Mariansofia Aguirre (Plano), Emma Allen (Keller), Yuki Asako (Frisco), Connor Castro (Allen), Trooper Denson (Wichita Falls), Cody Huang (Plano), Lance Luong (Carrollton), and Chelsie Son (Allen), as well as assistant coach Henry Luong.

The ATA Dream Team is coached by Brian Notis and features team members: Kendall Curley (Keller), Nico Jamison (Greeley, Colo.), Lawrence Li (Austin), Kerry Lum (Austin), Alexandra Malysheva (Austin), and Devan Sabapathy (Austin).

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.