TEXAS WINS BIG AT JTT 14U NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Three Texas teams reached the finals at the 2019 USTA Junior Team Tennis 14U National Championships, taking home the Intermediate national title and finishing runner-up in the Intermediate and Advanced divisions. The event was held at the McFarlin Tennis Center in San Antonio, Nov. 7-10.       

The 2019 USTA Junior Team Tennis 14U National Championships brought together the top 28 teams at intermediate and advanced levels from various USTA Sections throughout the country.

In the Intermediate championship, Texas Select Bears of Dallas, which received a wild card to the event after finishing second in the USTA Texas Section Championship, avenged their loss to King Daddy Tornadoes of Houston by a score of 45-42.

The Texas Select team is coached by Todd Harris and features team members: Aubrey Carroll (McGregor), Willow Dymkowski (Buda), Aditya Gupta (Irving), Bianca Harris (Fort Worth), Avi Kumar (Southlake), and Sansh Kumar (Frisco).

The King Daddy Tornadoes squad is coached by Jane Strnadel and features team members: Dong Thanh Do (Houston), Jastine Escamos (Sugar Land), Katiana Gonzalez (Webster), Aly Ham (Sugar Land), Laila Nguyen (Houston), Timothy Nguyen (Houston), and Gabriel Segubiense (Rosharon). 

In the Advanced division, Texas Select Longhorns of Dallas fell to a team from New York, 51-43, in the final.

The Advanced team is coached by Henry Luong and features team members: Mariansofia Aguirre (Plano), Yuki Asako (Frisco), Hattie Berend (Wichita Falls), Trooper Denson (Wichita Falls), Mateo Galvez (Spring), Cody Huang (Plano), Lance Luong (Carrollton), Lindsay Patton (Coppell), and Chelsie Son (Allen).

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.