The Austin Tennis Blog

UT Adult Camp Feb. 18-19

2012-02-08T23:12:00.003-06:00

ATB received the following information from Granger Huntress:

We have a few spots remaining for the adult camp February 18-19 at Penick-Allison Tennis Center, hosted by Coaches Patty McCain, Darija Klaic and players from the 2012 Longhorn Team. The cost is $225, but there is a $25 discount now. This is a wonderful opportunity to improve your game and learn from some of the best in the business.

Among her many accomplishments, Coach Patty Fendick-McCain was the 1991 Australian Open Doubles Champion with Mary Jo Fernandez and a multiple NCAA Champion. She was also the 2004 ITA National Coach of the Year.

To register, click on the register button at the top of the page at: www.longhornstenniscamp.com.

We hope to see you there.

Granger Huntress

UT Men Beat UNC...Mabry Winners

2012-02-05T21:13:00.004-06:00

The UT Men's team bounced back from a 7-0 loss against The University of Virginia on Friday to beat The University of North Carlolina today by the score of 5-2. After dropping the doubles point, the Longhorns got singles wins in five of six singles matches. For more details on this match, click here.

No. 15 Texas 5, No. 17 North Carolina 2
Doubles – Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
1 S. Hess-Olesen/Hilliard (UT) def. Boyajian/E. Hess-Olesen (UNC) – 8-3
2 Burkhardt/Hernandez (UNC) def. Camillone/Holiner (UT) – 8-5
3 Ahari/Steiro (UNC) def. Swaysland/Whitehead (UT) – 8-6
Singles – Order of Finish: 2, 6, 5, 3, 4, 1
1 Soren Hess-Olesen (UT) def. #30 Jose Hernandez (UNC) – 7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-2
2 #112 Daniel Whitehead (UT) def. Brennan Boyajian (UNC) – 6-1, 6-2
3 Sudanwa Sitaram (UT) def. Esben Hess-Olesen (UNC) – 6-4, 0-6, 7-6 (2)
4 Lloyd Glasspool (UT) def. Joey Burkhardt (UNC) – 6-1, 3-6, 6-1
5 Chris Camillone (UT) def. Oystein Steiro (UNC) – 6-4, 6-3
6 William Parker (UNC) def. Joey Swaysland (UT) – 6-3, 6-3

*******************************
Congratulations to the following Austin area players for winning their respective divisions at the Mabry Adult Open and Senior Major Zone over the weekend:

Juan DeKruyff - M 40 singles
John Swords- M 45 singles
Joseph Spacek- M 4.0 singles
Ernie Fontes and Bob Riley - M 60 Doubles
Andy Swanson and Charlie Johnson -M 4.5 doubles*
Greg Gold and Greg Dyer- M 4.5 doubles*
Joann Assawamatiyanont - W 40 singles
Elizabeth Davis - W 50 singles
Suzy Stege - W 65 singles
Melanie Logan - W 4.5 singles
Michelle Ash and Elizabeth Davis - W 50 doubles
* Final was not played
Click here to see all the draws.

UT Men's and Women's Updates

2012-01-29T21:59:00.006-06:00

(Photos courtesy of Jeff Horvath)

The UT Men's team beat Texas Tech today by the score of 4-0. With this win the Longhorn men have advanced to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships next month at Virginia. To read more about today's victory, click here. Scores below are courtesy of Texassports.com. There are some great pictures on the teams facebook page.

No. 17 Texas 4 No. 21 Texas Tech 0

Doubles - Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2
1. Carvalho/Garcia (TTU) def. Hess-Olesen/Hilliard (UT) - 8-3
2. Whitehead/Holiner (UT) def. Escobar/Manzini (TTU) - 9-8 (4)
3. Lewis/Sitaram (UT) def. Bryan/ Wanderley (TTU) - 8-6

Singles - Order of Finish: 4, 3, 2
1. Soren Hess- Olesen (UT) vs. Raony Carvalho (TTU), - 4-6, 2-4, susp.
2. Daniel Whitehead (UT) def. Gonzalo Escobar (TTU) - 6-1, 6-4
3. Sudanwa Sitaram (UT) def. Rafael Garcia (TTU) - 6-2, 6-2
4. Lloyd Glasspool (UT) def. Francisco Zambon (TTU) - 6-3, 6-1
5. David Holiner (UT) vs. Vitor Manzini (TTU) - 1-6, 3-5, susp.
6. Alex Hilliard (UT) vs. Raphael Pfister (TTU) - 7-6 (5), 3-0, susp.

*******************************

The UT Women's team also advanced to the ITA indoor championship by defeating Vanderbilt 4-1 today in Tennessee. This is the first time since 2006 that the women's team has qualified for the ITA indoors. Click here to read more, scores are below.

No. 15 Texas 4, No. 17 Vanderbilt 1

Doubles: Order of Finish: 3, 2
1. Lina Padegimaite/Noel Scott (Texas) vs. Jackie Wu/Alex Leatu (VU) 7-5, susp.
2. Aeriel Ellis/Cierra Gaytan-Leach (Texas) def. Ashleigh Antal/Marie Casares (VU) 8-5
3. Krista Damico/Elizabeth Begley (Texas) def. Lauren Mira/Nelly Radeva (VU) 8-3

Singles: Order of Finish: 2, 4, 5, 3
1. #23 Jackie Wu (VU) vs. #47 Aeriel Ellis (Texas) 7-6(-7), 2-1, susp.
2. #119 Noel Scott (Texas) def. #69 Lauren Mira (VU) 6-0, 6-2
3. Krista Damico (Texas) def. #110 Marie Casares (VU) 7-5, 6-3
4. Alex Leatu (VU) def. Cierra Gaytan-Leach (Texas) 6-4, 6-3
5. Lina Padegimaite (Texas) def. Ashleigh Antal (VU) 6-3, 6-3
6. Nelly Radeva (VU) vs. Elizabeth Begley (Texas), 3-1, susp.

UT Men Host Maryland, Michigan and Tech

2012-01-27T14:54:00.003-06:00

The UT Men's Tennis team will host Maryland, Michigan and Texas Tech this weekend as part of the ITA Kickoff Weekend. On Saturday, January 28, UT will play Maryland at 11am. If the Longhorns win that match they will battle either Michigan or Texas Tech on Sunday, January 29, at a time to be announced. Click here for live scores.

This could be the last we see of the Maryland Men's Tennis Team, as the University recently announced that it will be cutting the men's program. To read more on this, click here. As a UM law school grad, I was sorry to hear this news.

PATC Tennis Programming update - 1/24

2012-01-24T11:00:00.007-06:00

Update: All classes cancelled Jan. 24th.

I went out to Penick-Allison last night to try the new tennis classes and took my kids with me. We all had a great time. Joe Prather and Nick Zinsmeister drilled the adults on two courts and Kristi Francis and Dave Borkowicz worked with the kids. I had a great workout and I was dripping with sweat at the end of the night, and my kids had a great time and were worn out as well.

I received an email from Granger today announcing that the noon workout for today (Jan. 24th) has been cancelled due to rain (you know, that wet stuff that falls out of the clouds ?) A decision of the evening classes will be made later this afternoon.

For more information on the tennis programs at Penick, see the Jan. 18th post.

CATA Nothing But Doubles....UT Updates

2012-01-22T19:04:00.007-06:00

The CATA Polar Brr Nothing but Doubles tournament was a big success, congratulations to the following doubles teams for winning their respective draws:

M Open: Jory Ereckson and Rick Garza
M 4.0 : Michael Anderson and Brandon Kiker
M 3.5: Johnny Nguyen and Chris Ramser
M 3.0: Randall Pugh and Joe Stevens
W 4.5: Gina Hughes and Marie Martin
W 4.0: Shannon Bailey and Elizabeth Emerson
W 3.5: Leslie Cameron and Leslie Love
W 3.0: Julie Pimm and Tina Pruett
MXD 4.0: Molly Dahlstrom and Matt Ledbetter
MXD 3.5: Tracy Hand and Jacob McDaniels

Click here to see all the draws.

******************************
The UT Men's team beat Rice by the score of 5-2 in Houston Friday night. Click here to read more.

The UT Women lost to ninth ranked UVA 4-3 in New York. For all the scores, click here.

CATA Doubles Pictures - Day 1

2012-01-21T22:07:00.011-06:00

Some Pictures from day one the CATA Polar Brrr Tournament, top four pictures are courtesy of Dave Idemoto, for updated draws, click here.

CATA Doubles Draws Are Up

2012-01-19T08:15:00.002-06:00

This weekend's Polar Brrr Nothing but Doubles Tournament has over 250 people signed up. With temperatures expected to be in the 70's, there should be some great tennis. To see all the draws, click here.

Penick-Allison Programming information

2012-01-18T14:43:00.003-06:00

Penick-Allison Tennis Center (PATC) will offer several different programming options beginning in January 2012 for tennis players in the Austin area. Classes begin Monday, January 23, 2012.

GRAND OPENING
On January 23-24, Penick-Allison Tennis Center will be hosting an open house. On those two days, PATC will be offering free group tennis lessons to the public. There will be an adult clinic from noon-1:00 p.m., as well as adult and junior classes running from 5:30 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Please be advised: PATC cannot accept cash. We can accept checks or credit cards only.

ADULT EVENING PROGRAMMING
PATC offers 75-minute daily drop-in classes catering to players from 2.0 to 5.0. Several coaches are involved as necessary and the class works on everything from stroke technique to strategy and fitness.

Classes are held Monday through Thursday from 5:30-6:45 p.m. and 6:45-8 p.m. Cost is $15 for a single session, or purchase a 10-session package for $120 (20% off).

JUNIOR EVENING PROGRAMMING
These 75-minute daily drop-in classes are specifically for junior players of all levels under 14 years of age. As with the adult sessions, several coaches are involved as necessary and the class works on everything from stroke technique to strategy and fitness.

PATC hosted a QuickStart Training session for coaches last summer and understands the needs of those players specifically interested in the 10-and-under tennis experience.

Classes are held Monday through Thursday from 5:30-6:45 p.m. and 6:45-8 p.m. Cost is $15 for a single session, or purchase a 10-session package for $120 (20% off).

LUNCHTIME 'STROKE OF THE DAY' CLINIC
This is a one-hour class emphasizing a single stroke each day and open to players of all levels. Showers and locker rooms (no towel service) are available for those trying to get a quick bit of exercise during the lunch hour before heading back to the office.

Classes are held Monday through Thursday from noon-1 p.m. Cost is $10 for a single session.

SEMESTER SINGLE-COURT RESERVATIONS
Penick-Allison Tennis Center will begin accepting applications for Semester Single-Court Reservations beginning in Spring 2012. A Semester Single-Court Reservation is the ability to reserve a court at the same day and time for an entire semester. For more information, please contact Granger Huntress at :

granger.huntress@athletics.utexas.edu.

ADULT MORNING PROGRAMMING
PATC hopes to bring some morning programming online during the spring, including mini-clinics and a Longhorn Ladies League. If you have any specific requests or suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

CONTACT US For more information on any of the programs offered at Penick-Allison Tennis Center, please check our website at:
http://www.playpenicktennis.com/
or contact Director of Tennis Granger Huntress, (512) 471-4404 or granger.huntress@athletics.utexas.edu.

Berry Creek Winners 2012

2012-01-17T11:05:00.002-06:00

Here is the list of local winners from last weekend's Berry Creek Winter Open.

Men's Open singles: Zachary Williams
Men's 4.5 singles: D'Art Bebel
Men's 3.0 singles: Sam Mathison
Men's 30 singles: Sam Jones
Women's 4.5 singles: Elizabeth Lubin
Women's 4.0 singles: Elaine Brown
Women's 3.5 singles: Amber Jordan
Men's 4.5 doubles: Lee Pointer/Rod Rotermund
Men's 4.0 doubles: Mike Luscier/Michael Vageline
Men's 3.5 doubles: Eric Heeder/Doug Plummer
Men's 3.0 doubles: Arthur Danart/Ken Jacob
Women's 4.5 doubles: Denise Frasier/Dorinda Williams
Women's 3.5 doubles: Teresa Giamportone/Maria Ruwaldt
Mixed 4.5 doubles: Greg Dyer/Denise Frasier
Mixed 4.0 doubles: John Bacon/Elaine Brown
Mixed 3.5 doubles: Roland Waits/Renee Williams

January 16, 2012

2012-01-16T14:56:00.001-06:00

Cawell in 1955....UT Men Post Wins in Key Biscayne

2012-01-07T15:28:00.005-06:00

I stumbled across some interesting video of Austin in 1955, which includes some footage of Caswell Tennis Center when it was a clay court facility. Click on this link and forward to the 22:48 mark to see the footage (first click on the time bar, then click the play button).

***************************
The UT Men's tennis team is in action at the Key Biscayne Invitational this week, and they started strong, winning seven singles matches and four doubles matches. For more details, see Texassports.com.

Central Texas Winter Tournaments 2012

2012-01-04T21:07:00.003-06:00

Polar Brr Nothing But Doubles, January 20-22, Austin, NTRP levels. CATA's annual winter doubles tournament is a good chance to shake off some rust and get back into tournament mode. Deadline is January 11, 2012. To enter on-line click here.

WTA Frostbite Open, January 28-29, Waco, Adults, Juniors and Seniors. Entry deadline is January 18, 2012. Head up to Waco for this tournament, click here for more information or to enter on-line.

Mabry Adult Open and Senior/Super Senior Major Zone, February 2-5, San Antonio. Things start getting serious for a lot of tournament players with this tournament, always a favorite among seniors. Entry deadline is January 22, 2012. For more information or to enter, click here.

Horseshoe Bay Resort Red Clay Open, February 10-13, Horseshoe Bay, Adult NTRP levels. A rare chance to play on Red Clay in Texas. Entry deadline is January 29, 2012. Click here to enter on-line.

SAPTA-HEB Adult Major Zone, February 17-19, San Antonio, Adult NTRP Levels. The first Adult major zone of the year, this is a good chance to pick up some early points. Entry deadline is February 8, 2012. For on-line entry, click here.

Berry Creek Winter Open Deadline Today January 3, 2012

2012-01-03T10:35:00.005-06:00

To enter on-line, click here.

I'll try to get a winter tournaments guide up soon. (Does anyone else find the new Tennislink format to be annoying ?).

Penick-Allison to Offer Court Rental to the Public

2011-12-28T10:16:00.003-06:00

ATB received the following information from Granger Huntress:

Penick-Allison Tennis Center is glad to announce they will be accepting applications for Semester Single-Court Reservations, beginning with the Spring of 2012. A Semester Single-Court Reservation is the ability to reserve a court at the same day and time for an entire semester.

1. A limited number of court times will be available are for one and a half hour blocks for 17-weeks. No courts will be available for ‘walk-ups’.

2. Cost for the semester is $330, due upon lottery selection. A group headed by a current UT faculty, staff or student will be billed at the discounted rate of $300. A $60 deposit is required when submitting an application. This amount will be applied to the total court fee. Checks should be made to: The University of Texas at Austin.

3. Applications are accepted from individuals only for one court. However, fees may be split among members of a group. Please indicate on registration form.

4. Courts will be available Monday-Thursday at 8:30-10:00 a.m., 10:00-11:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m., 5:30-7:00 p.m. and 7:00-8:30 p.m.

5. Semester Single-Court Reservations cannot be cancelled once the season has begun.

6. Spring 2012 season begins January 23 and ends May 24.

7. There will be no court time during Spring Break, March 12-15.

8. Due to the UIL State Championships, Monday-Tuesday groups may extend to May 28-29, if courts are not available April 30-May 1.

9. In the event a University of Texas varsity event or practice requires an SSCR to be moved, the group affected will receive an additional week in May. At this time, no SSCR’s will be effected by matches and/or practices.

10. There are no rain make ups or refunds.

11. Applicants (and players) agree to adhere to all standards of conduct as defined within the USTA’s “The Code” and waive the University of Texas and the Penick-Allison Tennis Center of all liability.

12. In the event of player misconduct, Penick-Allison Tennis Center reserves the right to expel that player from the facility and revoke the group’s SSCR with no refund.

13. Applications are due to Granger Huntress by 1 p.m. January 10. The office will not be open between December 23 and January 4. Lottery winners will be notified that week and must be paid in full by January 18, 2012.

14. Penick-Allison is a no-cash facility. At no time will the PATC accept cash for any payment.There is no parking at Penick-Allison Tennis Center. All parking is at players’ expense on street or in the available surrounding lots

Contact Granger Huntress for more information:

Granger.Huntress@athletics.utexas.edu

Merry Christmas 2011 from ATB

2011-12-25T00:28:00.003-06:00

UT Women's Schedule 2012

2011-12-21T20:33:00.002-06:00

Here are the UT Women's home matches for 2012:

3/02 - vs. Northwestern 6pm
3/08 - vs. William and Mary 2pm
3/11 - vs. Michigan 11am
3/14 - vs. USC 12 pm
3/16 - vs. Iowa State 2pm
3/21 - vs. Illinois 2pm
3/30 - vs. Kansas 2pm
4/01 - vs. Kansas State 12pm
4/14 - vs. Baylor 11:30 am
4/15 - vs. Texas Tech 11:30am

To view the complete schedule, click here.

UT Men's Schedule 2012

2011-12-18T23:58:00.004-06:00

Here are the UT Men's Home matches for 2012:

1/28 - vs. Maryland 10am
1/29 - vs. Michigan or Texas Tech TBA
2/25 - vs. UT Arlington 1pm
2/25 - vs. UTSA 6pm
3/04 - vs. TCU 2pm
3/08 - vs. San Diego 6pm
3/10 - vs. Florida State 11am
3/10 - vs. Nichols State 5:30pm
3/13 - vs. USC 6pm
3/18 - vs. Tulsa 1pm
3/18 - vs. UT Permian Basin 6pm
3/30 - vs. Oklahoma 6pm
4/01 - vs. Oklahoma State 1pm
4/14 - vs. Texas A&M 6pm

Times are subject to change, to see the full schedule, click here.

It looks like there will be a lot of good tennis for UT fans in Austin this year, with the March 13th matchup against three time NCAA champions USC being the premier match for 2012. Other interesting matches will be against Oklahoma on March 30 and against Texas A&M on April 14th.

Update on Pharr Tennis Center

2011-12-09T21:32:00.003-06:00

At the December 8, 2011 Austin City Council Meeting the Council voted to accept staff's recommendation to award the contract to Yanez Tennis Consultants to manage and operate Pharr Tennis Center. If you would like to watch the City Council meeting on-line, click here, but I can tell you there isn't much to see.

DeKruyff Takes CATA Male Player of The Year

2011-12-08T11:01:00.004-06:00

Congratulations to ATB contributing editor Juan DeKruyff for winning the CATA Male Player of the year award last night at the CATA Awards Banquet. DeKruyff, who actually hasn't contributed anything lately to the ATB, had a solid year and is currently ranked #3 in the Men's 30's division and #7 in the Men's 40's division.

A well respected immigration attorney, DeKruyff spoke to ATB about the demands of balancing his tennis with his career and family life. "It's tough...I'm fighting 'the man' at work every day and raising two young kids with my wife, so I don't get to practice as much as I would like. Luckily, I have Topspin 4 on my Playstation 3." When asked about being dumped by his mixed doubles partner this year, DeKruyff took the high road. With his voice cracking slightly he stated "I'd rather not comment...on that...I'm moving forward and staying positive."

To see pictures of Juan and the other winners at last nights CATA banquet, check out the CATA facebook page.

Teaching Pros Wanted

2011-12-05T11:02:00.006-06:00

Check out the new Penick Allison Website:

http://www.playpenicktennis.com/

ATB received the following email from Granger Huntress today:

I am looking for people interested in working here at Penick-Allison Tennis Center. We hope to start programming January 9th with classes at noon and in the evenings for both adults and juniors. We will likely add some programming in the mornings…

Right now I am looking for Lead and Assistant teaching professionals. A lead professional must have teaching experience and be able to lead either adult or junior classes on their own. They must have excellent communication skills and be able to manage one or two assistant professionals on court. A USPTA or PTR certification is not required but a plus. An assistant professional must have some tennis experience and be able to lead instruction on court under the leadership of a lead pro. Excellent communication skills are a priority.

We will have clinics Monday through Thursday. The concept here will be that 1 lead professional and 1-3 assistants (depending on need) will lead each clinic. Therefore, we will need one set of professionals for the juniors and one set for the adults. Teaching professionals are not required to work all four days.

If anyone is interested in applying for either of these positions or has any questions, please submit a letter of interest, detailing your experience to Granger Huntress:

(granger.huntress@athletics.utexas.edu)

Granger Huntress
Manager, Penick-Allison Tennis Center
The University of Texas at Austin

Year End NTRP Ratings Due out Monday 11/28 by 5pm

2011-11-27T13:00:00.003-06:00

Update: Tennislink seems to be a little more accessible now, click here to search for ratings.

The countdown begins for the year end NTRP ratings, according to the USTA, the ratings should be out by 5pm eastern time on Monday, November 28th. I'll be interested to see how many bumps there are in the Men's 4.5 league this year, I can only think of one singles player (Archer) who is almost certain to get moved up. As far as doubles players go, there are several players who come to mind, but it seems like the doubles guys, historically, are less likely to get the bump. Any guesses ?

Happy Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-24T09:53:00.001-06:00

UT Adult Camp Dec. 3-4th 2011...UT Men's Recruits

2011-11-20T17:41:00.004-06:00

The University of Texas will be hosting an Adult Camp on December 3rd and 4th. Head Women's Coach Patty Fendick-McCain will be leading the camp. The cost is $225 and you can find more information and register on-line here.

*****************************

The UT Men's team has announced the signing of three new players. Lloyd Glasspool, from England, will be joining the team in January and be eligible to compete next semester. In addition, Andrew Korinek and Nick Naumann, both from Texas, will be joining the team in August of 2012. For more details, click here.

Dennis Ralston Interview Part II

2011-11-18T20:47:00.004-06:00

(ATB Note, this is Part II of my interview with Dennis Ralston, please see my post on October 31, 2011 for Part I)

ATB: It seems like we’re in a down cycle for tennis in the US, and I’m wondering what your thoughts are on that ?

Ralston: Well, I think you’re absolutely right, it goes in cycles. The interesting thing is when we were winning, when we had Sampras, Courier, Chang and Agassi or before that when we had Connors and McEnroe, nothing was said about how American tennis was great, it’s always when we aren’t winning. Yeah, we’re down a little bit, but I think it goes in cycles, and in my six decades in the game, it’s been that way.

When I first came on the scene in the 1960’s the Australians were dominating the game, and in the late 60’s and early 70’s Australia fell back and we ended up dominating with Smith, Lutz and Ashe, and we won the Davis Cup like five times in a row.

As far as American tennis, I don’t think we need to go to another country and see what they’re doing. We have such a vast country in terms of size, and all these other sports are competing for our players, and we can’t expect to dominate. Tennis is booming across the world, with Serbia for example, having so many good players, for a country about the size of Washington.

So, I just think that the USTA, …they spend a lot of money in areas that are not productive to developing tennis. For example, the Davis Cup program, you know what those guys got paid for playing in Austin ? Around 100 grand apiece, and the Davis Cup captain gets about 60 thousand a match. Jim Courier needs another 60 thousand like I need a hole in my head. At least four or five years ago, those were the numbers, and the players get prize money also, BNP puts up prize money. I just think it should be like the Ryder Cup, the golfers get $5,000 and that goes to the charity of their choice. I mean for me, it’s the greatest honor, to be asked to play for your country, when I played, we got 20 dollars a day for to cover our expenses.

When you add up the numbers, it gets pretty staggering and if you took that money and put it into a grass roots program, coaching at different levels…I can’t blame the players for taking the money, I blame the system for saying you get this or you get that and I think they ought to revamp that, take the money and put it into kids programs. The whole purpose of the game is to get more people to play and enjoy the game. Whether we have all the top players in the world, is not important.

What is the purpose of the USTA ? Basically to promote and grow the game of tennis and that’s what they should be doing more of. I think it will come back, we’ve got a lot of young players coming up.

I mean, you cannot make a champion, they have to want it themselves. And I think this is going to happen, We’re kind of in a down cycle, but I think it will come back. To me, the greatest honor is to be asked to play for your country, we got 20 dollars a day to cover our expenses.

ATB: What advise would you give to a junior player who wants to take his or her game to the next level ?

Ralston: You know, I’ve been to a lot of CATA tournament here in town, and I’ve been watching some of the junior programs. The best advice I can give kids and parents, is to not worry about when you Champ up or become a Super Champ. If you’re going to be a good player it’s going to happen, if you work hard you’re going to get there. I think there’s a lot of extra pressure on the kids about who Champs up first, who’s going to Super Champ. What I tell the kids I work with is, the main thing is, if you’re getting better, that’s the key. If you get better, that will all take care of itself. It’s just like rankings, which are a synopsis of performance over time, and who remembers who was ranked #1 in the 12’s, 14’s and 16’s ? Kids worry more about rankings, rather than worrying about improving their game, and working with a good coach, in a good program, where they are getting better. Obviously, you’re not going to get there if you don’t work hard, and that’s true in any sport. I just see these kids get out there and freeze, because they're thinking if I win this match, then I’ll Champ up. I see parents getting way too involved, about what the other kids are doing and who is doing what first, instead of just worrying about whether their kid is getting better.

When I was coming up, my Dad worked for the phone company and my Mom was a schoolteacher, so they didn’t have a lot of economic clout. My Dad said to me, “Denny, if you practice and you work hard, we’ll do what we can to get you to the tournaments, but if you don’t want to do that, that’s okay too, but it’s up to you to practice and work hard.” I loved to go to tournaments, and I loved to play, so I worked hard. So, when the other kids were out swimming, I’d be hitting serves…and then I’d go swimming. Obviously, that was a long time ago, and some things have changed, but every player I’ve worked with or been associated with, had that desire, that inner drive. Chrissie, Noah, Dick Stockton, Roscoe….Laver, Emerson, they all worked hard and no one was making them do it.

ATB: Well, that’s all the questions I had, but I’m just curious, did you see that match between Gonzales and Charlie Pasarell at Wimbledon in 1969.

Ralston: Yes, I sure did, what an amazing match. Pancho was 44, I think and he was fitter than Charlie that time. He beat Connors at Ceasar’s Palace when he was 45, in a huge match. A lot of people don’t agree with me when I say he was the best, because they didn’t like Gonzalez, he could really get into people’s heads, but for me, no question, he was the best.

ATB: Thanks Dennis.

Master's Winners 2011

2011-11-14T21:37:00.006-06:00

(Photos courtesy of Jeff Horvath)

It looks like there was some great tennis at the 2011 Texas Adult Masters Championships over the weekend. To see all the draws, click here. Local winners included the following players:

Jason Wilkes- M 30 singles
Guillermo Martin Del Campo - M 4.5 singles (not really local, but we've adopted him)
Andrea Swanson - W 3.0 singles
Elizabeth Davis - W 4.5 singles
Ned Boone and Rick Garza- M Open doubles
Fred Hall and Del Campo- M 4.5 doubles
Robyn Ridlehuber and Jona Vallarta- W 3.5 doubles
Kristi Francis and Jason Wilkes - Open Mixed doubles

Austin Super Seniors Take Sectionals

2011-11-13T17:21:00.004-06:00

Congratulations to Austin's Men's 8.0 Super Senior Team, playing out of Circle C Tennis Club, for winning Senior Sectionals. The team went 4-0 in pool play, defeating Corpus Christi, Dallas, NOHO and Lubbock and getting wins from Craig Cox, Kerry Orr, Chic Bain, Brad Beal, Ernie Fontes, Steve Thurber, Don Primosic, and Jim Anderson.

In the finals, Austin beat Fort Worth 2-1, as they got wins at #1 doubles from the team of Ernie Fontes and Kerry Orr, and at #3 doubles from the team of Steve Thurber and Jim Anderson.

Congratulations also to the Women's Super Senior 8.0 team, as they advanced all the way to the finals at Sectionals before losing a close match to Fort Worth, 2-1.

2011 Adult Texas Masters Championships

2011-11-02T22:24:00.006-05:00

Next weekend, November 11-13th, the 2011 Texas Adult Masters Championships will be played in Austin at The Courtyard Tennis and Swim Club, Lost Creek Country Club, and The Polo Club. There are several local players in the draws, to view all the competitors, click here.

Dennis Ralston Interview Part I

2011-10-31T00:33:00.012-05:00

ATB Note: This weekend I had the pleasure of sitting down with Dennis Ralston, former #5 player in the world and a member of the International Tennis Hall of fame, for an interview. This is by far my favorite interview in the years I have been blogging, so I have not edited it much, and will be posting this interview in two parts. Special thanks to Bernardo Fernandez and Fernando Velasco for setting this interview up.

ATB: Dennis, can you tell us how you ended up in Austin ?

Ralston: Well about four years ago, Fernando Velasco, who is the general manager and director of tennis at The Circle C Tennis Club, asked me to do a clinic for his members and adaptive tennis players, the first volley group, it was for wheelchair and amputee tennis players, but then the clinic got postponed. Then Fernando called me again last year and said we’re going to have the clinic again, and I don’t know if he knew , but I had lost part of my leg as a result of an infection. I said I’d love to come, because now I could really empathize with these folks who are trying to play with a disability. At the time we were moving to Houston to live with my daughter and I was trying to adjust to getting around and learning how to walk again. Fernando and I knew each other in Dallas, we had a bible study group together, and we were really good friends. It was really at Fernando’s encouragement that we thought about coming to Austin. And another factor was that the prosthetic device for my leg was getting fitted here in Austin, Mr. Foreman- he’s the guy who does my leg, he does a lot of stuff for different athletes. As we came to visit Austin more and more and we stayed with the Velascos, we really came to like it, the city really has everything. It was sort of like we were being led to come here, mainly through the Velascos and the Foremans, who have been really great.

The last ten years have been a chaotic time for us, because I got addicted to pain meds and that was ruining my life and killing me, and I’m lucky I didn’t die. I had to go to The Betty Ford Clinic to get off the stuff and to learn about it, which was probably the best thing I’ve ever done. So, this stuff was slowly killing me, I gained a lot of weight, for two years I couldn’t do anything. Then I met a guy at Betty Ford who was head of the pain track program, an amazing guy, who played football at Boston College. He was an athlete and he found out I played tennis, and he said “Dude, we’re going to play ping-pong." At the time, my back was killing me and I didn’t want to play ping pong, I didn’t want to do anything, but I went out there and we played for 40 minutes and I didn’t think about anything that was hurting, I just played. This guy said, you see, your mind can take you places, so you have to learn to make your mind work for you. This guy was also a special ops guy in the Army, a Ranger, and he’d seen all kinds of serious stuff and he said you’ve got to get going, you have to start working out, you can do it. So, I kept hearing his voice in my head, and the first time I went to the gym, I couldn’t even press the 45 pound bar, that’s how weak I was. I made it through Betty Ford, I got off the stuff, it will be a year in December, and I learned a lot about how horrible that stuff is. I remember lying in bed, feeling really terrible and thinking if I make it out of here, I’m going to tell people about how bad this epidemic is that is going on in our country. Everyday, I read about somebody in the sports world that’s getting messed up with the pain meds. I learned that more people are dying from prescription drugs than from overdoses in America, and no one talks about it, so I vowed that if I made it out, I would.

I went back to Houston, and I started rehabbing and getting back in shape, then we moved to Austin. Now, I’m starting to hit balls and I’m teaching. again. So, I’ve come pretty far, but I’ve got a long way to go. I’m teaching, both adults and kids here at Circle C, which is fun. I’m enjoying people again, I’m enjoying food, I didn’t even like to eat when I was on the pain meds, so I’m just enjoying life, I’ve got a second chance.

ATB: After everything you went through, how did it change your outlook on coaching and life ?

Ralston: Well, I’m more appreciative of everything. I know I’ve always liked coaching and teaching and being involved in the game. When I played, I watched the players, guys like Gonzalez, Rosewall and Laver, to see what they did that made them good, and I tried to learn from everybody. When I was coming up, I got a lot of help from those guys, particularly Pancho. So I always felt it was our obligation to give back to the game, and to help. If it’s a 3.5 ladies team, I’m just as involved as if it were the Davis Cup, I’m playing every point with them. The reason I mention that is some ladies here asked me to watch their league match last week, so I watched all four lines and I wrote down things about every player and they loved it, and it was a lot of fun. That’s what I did as a coach. When I was a player, I wish I had had a coach, but I didn’t. When I turned pro, nobody had a coach, I mean Gozalez was our Davis Cup coach, but otherwise, you were out there on your own. So, I’ve learned a lot through my mistakes as a player, that has helped me be a coach. Because, I always felt if I played a match and lost, and didn’t learn anything, it was not productive.

For example at Wimbledon, when I went out there to play the finals of Wimbledon in 1966, I was playing Manuel Santana. I beat him two weeks earlier at Queens 64, 64, easily, and he was a really good player on clay, and a good player on grass, but I remember I beat Cliff Drysdale in the semis 12-10 in the fifth, and I had a day off and I walked out there and I was just flat. If I had a coach, someone who would have told me, you haven’t done anything yet, you’re in the finals, that’s great, so what, forget it , you’ve got to go out there and win this match, finish the job. But I went out there like “Ok, I’m in the finals” and my attitude wasn’t this is the most important match of your life, which it should have been, regardless, win or lose. I think I was comfortable, and I thought I was going to win, but I lost in straight sets, and that's a tough loss, but I learned something from it.

ATB: You won five grand slam doubles titles, and as you said, you were a Wimbledon finalist, who do you think was the greatest player you ever faced or played with ?

Ralston: Pancho Gonzales. What made him great was he had the most unbelievable serve, and he was fast, really fast for a big guy, he was 6’3”. He could hit the serve anywhere he wanted at 120 miles an hour with a wooden racket, and he was the fiercest competitor that I ever saw. When I turned pro, it was a series of matches, Gonzales and I played Laver, Rosewall and Stolle in Australia and New Zealand. He had always been my hero, and I remember my first match was in Toowoomba, it was US vs. Australia, Ralston and Gonzalez. I remember thinking, this is the cat’s meow, playing doubles with my idol, even though he was past his prime, he was still so good. I remember watching him when he was younger, I watched him play Lew Hoad in one of those 100 match deals, in Bakersfield, and I mean, I had never seen tennis like that.

That’s the hardest question, people say well how can you compare Federer with these guys, well, you can’t compare eras, I mean you can, but you’re never going to know. Like Laver winning two grand slams, I mean how do you not count that as one of the greatest efforts in the game ? Winning one grand slam is ridiculous. So I always say, Gonzalez was the world champion for 12 years, he beat everybody, Federer was the world champion for three years. So to me, that mark stands alone, for the guys I saw play, and I never saw Kramer play, or Tilden or Budge, I saw them hit balls, but not really play. I say Gonzalez was the best, Federer is awesome…there’s so many... Laver... I’d put Nadal in there, and Djokovic, his record this year is unbelievable. You’ve got to hand it to that guy, he’s changed his diet, he’s stronger, fitter, he’s unbeatable this year.

The guy I had the toughest time with, personally, was Roy Emerson. I played him a lot. He was an attacking player, and really fast, I think he still holds the long jump record in Australia for high school athletes. He was the mark, we all said we wanted to be as fit as Roy Emerson, because he never got tired.

ATB: Did you play Lew Hoad ?

Ralston: I played Hoad once as a pro, and he was way past his prime. Gonzalez said to me, if I had to have a guy to play a match for my life, it would be Lew Hoad, one match, at his best. Hoad was scary, scary good.

In part 2 of his interview, Ralston gives ATB his thoughts on the State of US tennis, and tells us the one thing that most Junior players and their parents do wrong. Look for part 2 later this week.

Seniors Tournament at Lakeway

2011-10-27T08:35:00.002-05:00

This weekend Lakeway will host The World of Tennis Category II Championships for Seniors 55 and over. There are several Austin area players entered in this tournament, as well as top players from across the state and beyond.

Click here to see all the draws.

Pharr Tennis Center -Additional Information

2011-10-24T10:10:00.003-05:00

For those of you who missed the PARD meeting on Saturday to discuss the management of Pharr Tennis Center, here is a recap. The meeting was well attended , I would estimate somewhere between 50-70 people. We broke into small groups of about 10 people and discussed questions such as how to grow the game at Pharr Tennnis Center. It was essentially a brainstorming session and ideas were written on flip charts. After the small group meetings concluded all the ideas where put up on the walls. Each individual was given five stickers and told to place their stickers next to the idea or ideas they liked the best.

There will be a meeting with the Parks Board at 6pm on Tuesday, October, 25th at City Hall, where city staff will tell the Board what kind of feedback they received from those who attended the meeting. The public will also be given an opportunity to speak, each speaker will be given three minutes. This is another opportunity to provide feedback to the City, especially if you were not able to attend the meeting on Saturday.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE TUESDAY MEETING.

UT Men and Women at ITA Regional Championships

2011-10-23T19:01:00.003-05:00

The UT Men's and Women's teams were both in action this weekend at their respective ITA Regional Championships.

The UT Men's team traveled to College Station for the South Central Regionals and Soren Hess-Olesen had the best singles showing as he advanced to the quarter-finals. Hess-Olesen had some quality wins, including a 6-3, 6-4 win over Junior Ore from Texas A&M. In the doubles, it was an all Longhorns affair in the finals, as the unseeded duo of Chris Camillone and David Holiner beat the fifth seeded team of Ben Chen and Daniel Whitehead. To read more on the tournament, check out Texassports.com.

Meanwhile, the UT Women are in Fort Worth participating in the ITA Regional at TCU. Aeriel Ellis, the #2 seed has advanced to the semi-finals, which will be played on Monday. Ellis also advanced to the quarter-finals of the doubles draw with partner Krista Damico. For a recap from Texassports.com, click here.

Reminder: PARD Meeting on Saturday Concerning Pharr Tennis Center...USTA Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Press Release

2011-10-20T22:41:00.005-05:00

Just a reminder that the Austin Parks and Recreation Department will be hosting a meeting on Saturday, October 22 at 1pm at The Hancock Recreation Center to discuss the management of The Pharr Tennis Center. I posted about this a few days ago, and you can read more information here. I know there are a lot of different opinions on this issue and I will just say that everyone who wants to provide input to the City should try to attend this meeting.

*******************************

ATB received the following press release from the USTA:

10 AND UNDER TENNIS COURTS UNVEILED
Boys & Girls Club of the Austin Area to dedicate "Dream Courts"

AUSTIN - The Boys and Girls Club of the Austin Area, with the aid of a $10,000 United States Tennis Association grant, will unveil six new 10 and Under tennis courts in a ribbon cutting on Fri., Oct. 21 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., at the South Austin Club at 303 West Johanna, in Austin, Texas.

The surface is specially designed to include two playing surfaces that can be used for both basketball and for 10 and Under Tennis courts. The 10 and Under tennis program is designed to use modified tennis equipment, court sizes and training techniques using the QuickStart format, better suited for kids to learn and enjoy the game.

Expected to be in attendance is Carol Welder, USTA Board of Directors; State Representative Mark Strama (District 50); Basketball Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman; David Porter, Glimmer of Hope Foundation and representatives of the Austin Toros (NBA Development League).

Along with the USTA grant, the "Dream Court" was completed with donations from the Nancy Lieberman Foundation, Manifest Foundation, Sport Court and the Boys and Girls Club, working together to help young boys and girls. For more information about 10 and Under tennis in Texas go to :
www.texas.usta.com/10_and_under_tennis/ or contact Amanda Shaw at ashaw@texas.usta.com. For more information about the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Austin Area contact Brian Beaulieu, Director of Operations at (512) 431-2603 or at bbeaulieu@bgcca.net.

Program schedule listed below.

Friday, Oct. 21, 2011 - Boys & Girls Club (303 West Johanna, Austin, Texas)

4:30 p.m. - Children's celebration
4:45 p.m. - Press conference
5:15 p.m. - Official ribbon cutting
5:30 p.m. - Video interviews, courts opens for kids to play games along with Toros Mascot

Junior Tennis - Is it a boondoggle ?

2011-10-18T10:20:00.003-05:00

ATB Note: This article was contributed by Kristi Francis, a dedicated tennis parent and contributor to the blog.

Today, I have invited one of my daughter’s friends over to learn to play tennis. This child is particularly athletic and easily the fastest girl in school. In my overbearing way, I have appraised her abilities from afar (I couldn’t get close enough to measure her skull..) and decided that she could have the right stuff to be a top tennis player. But am I really doing her a favor, introducing her to the sport of tennis? Or am I just setting up her and her family for years of toil, anxiety and financial ruin? It is a valid question.

Tennis is a peculiarity among athletics. As one of the few sports with a large technical component, it has built in exclusivity. Any person lacking the means to pay for private instruction, access to a court and the hours needed to dedicate to the craft will achieve very little success. Ignoring this elitist aspect for a moment, the beauty of a technical sport such as tennis, golf or archery is that practically any person with limited coordination can, not only participate, but excel. I have witnessed junior players at the age of 8 who could barely walk around a cone without falling down go on to be highly ranked juniors. These less-gifted children received excellent instruction, worked hard and had the right amount of discipline and maturity necessary to win in the early years. Where tennis deviates from golf and archery (sorry golfers) is that a high degree of athleticism is required to compete at the top level. Strength, agility, speed and hand eye coordination, which are enough on their own merit to compete in other sports like basketball and track play a complimentary role in the development of a tennis player – albeit an integral role. One could also argue that in today’s game you could add size with a capital S to the physical requirements. That is particularly true in the women’s game where a vast majority of the top 100 players are 5’9” or taller.

The reason that I am highlighting all of the particular traits necessary to achieve the highest level of performance in tennis is because so very very few junior participants possess them. Tennis has long been dominated by rich, white kids that lack both the athleticism and the hunger necessary to compete on the big stage. While the ethnicity break down has changed in recent years, a recent visit I made to the USTA development camp at ATA confirmed what I already thought; most of the participants were tiny girls with limited physical potential to compete in these big banger years.( I didn’t pay attention to the boys.) Most of today’s tennis professionals are coming from war-torn or impoverished countries that have bestowed upon their citizenry both the physiques and the drive necessary to go to the top.

So, in my opinion, if you are the parent of a junior tennis player the best thing you can do to make the next ten years more pleasant is give up on any dreams you may have of watching junior play at Wimbledon some day. But, if you are not convinced and still hold out hope, its worth analyzing the earning capacity of the professional tennis player. Pros are ranked up to 1000 or so in the world. There are rankings beyond that figure but they are really not worth mentioning for our purposes. Likewise, although there is some disparity in male/female earnings, it’s close enough for arguments sake. Individuals with rankings up to 1000 are considered to be professionals earning their keep by participating in tournaments and receiving prize money. However, the prize money earned differs more than dramatically depending upon your ranking. It’s probably not necessary to put down actual amounts for the top 100 in the world; A LOT for the top and comfortable for the lower tier. It has been explained to me this way. If you are a player in the top 100, you have your own coach that travels with you and you are in the main draw for most major tournaments including grand slams. Your endorsement money is a significant part of your salary. If your ranking falls between 100 and 300 say, you are sharing a coach that travels with you to certain events. You are competing mostly in challenger events where the total (split up among all entrants) prize money is between $10 and $50K. If your ranking is below 300 you are getting your equipment paid for and are travelling by yourself to the challenger events where you are usually playing in the qualifying draw. Think about this for a moment. You are #300 IN THE WORLD, and you have achieved this milestone by being particularly gifted, working hard and killing it in tournaments on the state and even national level and now you are pulling in maybe 30 grand with very little prospect of climbing significantly higher. Most of these mid-range players play for a decade or so on this the lowest rung of professionaldom and end up being club pros. They enter back into the same food chain they are a product of, making a living trying to avoid skin can cancer and varicose veins. It may have been unnecessary to travel through the entire litany of professional earnings, as the only professionals that I know of that have come out of Texas are Alex O’Brien, Ashley Weinhold and fractionally Ryan Harrison and Andy Roddick.

So, a more realistic goal for the junior player, and quite possibly a more financially rewarding one is a college scholarship to a Division 1 or Division 2 school. Unfortunately, the competition for D1 and D2 schools has increased dramatically in the past decades due to an influx of the aforementioned driven foreigners. I would venture to say that at least half of the rosters of major universities are comprised of players from other countries, and its probably higher than that. That phenomenon extends into the ranks of D2 and D3 schools as well. But, that being said, a college scholarship is still an achievable feat and probably one that most junior players would claim to be their ultimate prize.

One of the problems that I see with that objective is that while most competitive juniors have their eyes on the collegiate prize, their academic curriculum falls far behind the rigors of their court time. There are notable exceptions to this, including the AESA Academy at Polo Club, but I have seen too many excellent tennis players receiving a questionable education under the guise of “home schooling”. The hours that these kids spend on the court far outweigh their time in an educational environment. My issue with this is that, if the goal is a scholarhip, many children are not academically (and some not socially) prepared to manage a college education and the significant benefits (read career) that a degree would provide.

Okay, and now for the fun part. The numbers game. What is the current value of a college scholarship, of the four year, full ride variety? I honestly don’t know for sure, but I would feel comfortable saying $125,000 acknowledging that it could be significantly more or less depending on the institution. Now lets look at the monetary outlay for developing a young tennis player to the level necessary to compete for a college scholarship. For this, unfortunately, I do have hard facts and figures. The typical monthly expenditures for a competitive junior player look something like this:

Academy (Group Lessons) 2 or 3 times a week $300
Private Lessons 1/week @ $85 hour (YES!) $360
1 SCMZ Tourney (travel, hotel, entrance feels $300
Equipment (strings, clothes, shoes, etc.) $100
Total $1060/ month

This figure does not include the sweat (and emotional) equity of the parents; driving to and from lessons, picking up balls and giving up weekends. Add in the divisive aspect of having a competive junior that often leads to parental strife and you should probably add in the cost of marriage counseling to that figure. So if your child begins their tennis career at age 8 (about as late as you can start these days..) and it lasts for 10 years, you are looking at a capital outlay of $127,200. Hmm…frighteningly close to our college scholarship fund. If you had placed that money in a functioning college investment vehicle it would be worth significantly more.

Most parents are only too aware of how much time and money is going into the development of their little prodigy and this is definitely a factor in the hand wringing and parking lot tongue lashings occurring at tournaments. Is it realistic to spend this amount of money and say to yourself “Well, just as long as little Johnny is having fun…”?

So if it is a scratch monetarily, why do we do it? Why do we pay through the nose, torture our children and ourselves at pressure-filled tournaments, drive endless miles in rush hour traffic? It is because of the other benefits, the ones that have nothing to do with the perceived goal.

Tennis provides so many positives in a young persons life. Not only does it acquaint a kid with the concepts of discipline, hard work, performing under pressure and being honest (that doesn’t always kick in..),, but it also opens up the world on so many levels. My girls have made friends with so many other kids that they ordinarily would never have the chance to meet. Families in the Austin community have really pulled together to better the achievement of all the kids involved in tennis. The generosity of families like the Meeks, Arimillis, and Cusanos has been extraordinary. And although tennis is primarily an individual sport, it does offer opportunities for team participation. Both of my girls had a great time competing in the Slammin 10s national competition and Jolie came back from Zonals in Nebraska with many new friends from all over Texas.

When you add in the mental strengthening (there have been studies that concentration sports like tennis can help with ADHD) and the physical component and the health benefits are through the roof.My daughter Jolie was complaining yesterday morning that she will have to miss a fun event at school on Friday because she has to travel to Dallas for a tournament. While I am sorry for her, the fact that she is learning at age 12 that we have to make sacrifices in order to achieve is an invaluable (and incalculable) dividend that we receive from our financial contribution.For me, knowing that my daughters are spending a vast majority of their free time on a tennis court instead of at the mall or in front of an Xbox is worth every penny we have spent.

Polanksy Wins Hill Country Classic

2011-10-16T22:21:00.003-05:00

Photo courtesy of 10sPortal.com

Peter Polansky of Canada won the 2001 Hill Country Classic this morning when he outlasted JP Smith of Australia 4-6, 7-6, 6-4 in an extremely well played final. Thanks to Anders Eriksson for bringing pro tennis back to Austin again this year.

Several of the players who competed in the tournament have headed North to attempt to qualify for the main draw of the Futures of Mansfield. Ed Corrie has won two matches and will play Sekou Bangoura for a spot in the main draw. Harrison Adams has also won two qualifying matches, including a win over Artem Ilyushin, a Russian ranked in the top 800. Adams beat Ilyushin last week in the qualifying draw also.

Corrie Takes Doubles Title at Hill Country Classic

2011-10-15T23:13:00.004-05:00

Photo courtesy of 10sPortal.com

Congratulations to former UT player Ed Corrie, who teamed with Chris Eaton to take the doubles title at the Hill Country Classic Futures Tournament being held at the Polo Club. Corrie and Eaton won the finals in straight sets over Ben Rogers and John-Patrick Smith, 7-6, 6-2.

The singles final between Canada's Peter Polansky and John-Patrick Smith of Australia will be played at 11am on Sunday, October 16 at 11am at The Polo club.

Semi Finals Set for Hill Country Classic...Corrie in Doubles Final

2011-10-15T08:47:00.003-05:00

Here is the order of play for the Matches at The Hill Country Classic Today, all matches are at The Polo Club:

Singles Semi-Finals

11am

Adam El Mihdawy (USA) vs. John=Patrick Smith (AUS)

Not before 12 Noon

Peter Polansky (CAN) vs. Alexandre Lacroix (FRA)

Not Before 3pm

Doubles Finals

Ben Rogers (USA) and John-Patrick Smith (AUS)
vs.
Ed Corrie (GBR) and Chris Eaton (GBR)

More Information Regarding The City of Austin Meeting on October 22 and Pharr Tennis Center

2011-10-13T22:59:00.002-05:00

I wanted to post some additional information and background with regard to the City of Austin Tennis Community Engagement Meeting that is scheduled for October 22nd at 1pm. As stated in the October 12, 2011 post, the purpose of the meeting is to "provide stakeholders, community members, and interested citizens the opportunity to provide their input regarding growing the game of tennis while serving the needs of the tennis community" regarding Pharr Tennis Center. I spoke to Lonnie Lyman with the City today and he emphasized that this meeting is to discuss management of Pharr Tennis Center, not South Austin, Caswell or other city tennis centers.

I think it is safe to say that the City decided to hold this meeting as direct result of the October 6, 2011 City Council meeting. During that meeting the City Council considered whether to award the contract to manage Pharr Tennis Center to Rippner Tennis. During that meeting four individuals spoke against this action. The City Council members discussed the issue of whether four out of the eight courts should be put aside for lessons, and at least one person argued against having this provision in the contract. The City Council postponed the item and voted to send it to the parks board for further consideration of issues discussed such as "usage, financial benefits of lessons vs. open courts, etc." You can watch the discussion here, click on item #47.

Today I saw an email from a local teaching pro which stated that there is a "possibility that that lessons, clinics, and junior programs provided at Austin public tennis centers could likely be eliminated or greatly reduced." The email also stated that the City Council "determined that the current model of management at public tennis centers should not be allowed to continue..."

After watching the October 6 City Council meeting twice, I would have to disagree with those statements. While I suppose there is always a "possibility" that lessons could be eliminated or reduced, I don't think it is "likely" and at no time did the City Council make any statements to that effect. In addition there was no conclusion reached by the Council that the current model of management should not be allowed to continue.

I do understand the value of lessons and clinics to the Austin tennis community, and I also understand that people want to be able to reserve courts so they can actually play tennis. Regardless of where you stand on this issue, I think it is important to provide input on the management of Pharr Tennis Center to the City of Austin. Please attend the October 22 meeting which is being held at Hancock Recreation Center from 1-3pm. The address in 811 E. 41st Street.

-Anthony Tatu

Updated Hill Country Classic Draw

2011-10-13T08:18:00.003-05:00

(Click to enlarge)

To see the order of play for today, go to the Polo Club Website.

Austin PARD Public Meeting Regarding Pharr Tennis Center

2011-10-12T10:32:00.005-05:00

ATB received the following email from the City of Austin:

PUBLIC NOTICE

Tennis Community Engagement Meeting

The Austin Parks and Recreation Department cordially invites you to attend a community engagement meeting regarding Pharr Tennis Center.

The meeting will be Saturday, October 22, 2011, from 1pm - 3pm at the Hancock Recreation Center located at 811 E. 41st Street.

The purpose of this meeting is to provide stakeholders, community members and interested citizens the opportunity to provide their input regarding growing the game of tennis while serving the needs of the tennis community.

For more information, please contact Lonnie Lyman at (512) 974-3921

********************************

I hope that members of the Austin Tennis Community will take the time to attend this meeting. I know that Saturday afternoon is not an ideal time with league matches, etc. going on, but this is an important opportunity to let the City know your opinion on this issue. If you cannot attend, but would like your comments forwarded to the city you can send your comments to:

Pharrtennisplayers@gmail.com

Hill Country Classic Draw

2011-10-10T21:35:00.004-05:00

(Click to enlarge)

The 2011 Austin Hill Country Classsic Futures Tournament will kick off on Monday at 10 am with final round qualifying matches. At 11am there will be main draw matches being played. For more information check out the Polo Club Website. The top seed in this year's tournament is Jaime Baker.

Pro Tennis Returns to Austin

2011-10-06T23:06:00.003-05:00

This is a reminder that The Polo Club will be hosting The Austin Hill Country Classic Futures Tournament all next week. Things will get started on Sunday, October 9th, when the Polo Club hosts a Kids Day event from 2pm-4pm. There will also be some qualifying matches being played.

Click here to see a list of players accepted into the Main Draw and the Qualifying Draw. There are several current and former UT players on the qualifiers list, including Ed Corrie, Josh Zavala, Sudanwa Sitaram, Soren Hess-Olesen, and Kellen Damico.

Having a Ball Wins 7.0 Mixed Sectionals

2011-10-04T00:20:00.005-05:00

Update: Apparently the USTA has disqualified Having a Ball, I understand the team is trying to appeal this decision. Congrats to Having a Ball, captained by Lawrence Rountree, for winning Mixed Doubles Sectionals at the 7.0 level last weekend. The Austin team beat NETX in the finals, getting wins from the doubles teams of Chris Harrison and Molly Dahlstrom and Matthew Hale and Michelle Loy to advance to Nationals.

*****************************

The ATB hit a bit of a milestone over the weekend, as we passed the 300,000 hit mark. The picture above is a chart of hits by year, from 2008 to 2011 (click to enlarge).

Austin Teams at Mixed Sectionals

2011-09-29T22:58:00.004-05:00

(Ok, not to bust on my friends at the USTA Texas, but how old is this picture ? Is that Bruce Jenner and Cheryl Tiegs ? )

Austin area teams at the 7.0 - 10.0 levels will be competing at The 2011 USTA Texas Mixed Doubles Championships this weekend in Southlake. To read more and to see the schedules, click here.

Good Luck to the following teams:

Mixed 7.0- Having a Ball, captained by Lawrence Rountree
Mixed 8.0-Having a Ball 8, captained by Lawrence Rountree
Mixed 9.0- Grapevine, captained by Cherie Hall
Mixed 9.0 WC- You've Been Served, captained by Wendy Wilson
Mixed 10.0- Dial 10.0, captained by Colleen Dial

UT Men's Team Update

2011-09-27T21:32:00.004-05:00

The UT Men's team has already started playing some Invitational Tournaments, with Daniel Whitehead winning the Racquet Club Invitational Tournament earlier this month in Midland. Currently, the UT Men have eight players on the roster. Junior Chris Camillone has been blogging on Texassports.com and in this entry he introduces readers to the players who are returning to the team from last year. To check out the 2011-2012 schedule, click here. This year USC will be visiting Austin, along with Big 12 Rivals Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Texas A&M.

'The Team" Takes Second Place at 5.0 Nationals

2011-09-25T15:37:00.004-05:00

Photos courtesy of USTA, Garrett Ellwood.

Congratulations to Austin's 5.0 USTA Team for taking second place at USTA Nationals in the 5.0 division. The Team, captained by Eric Strawbridge, went 4-0 in flight play, knocking off Intermountain 2-1, Northern 3-0, Middle States 2-1 and Southern California 2-1. Neal Bobba carried the load at singles, going 4-0 in those matches, while Jory Ereckson also went 4-0, winning three matches with Rick Garza and one match with Greg Gormley. Also winning in doubles were Joe Prather and Sean Fifield.

In the semi finals against Northern California Neal Bobba won again, beating Andrew Diefenback 6-4, 7-5 and Garza and Ereckson beat David McCallum/Payam Tabar 6-4, 7-6 to give Texas the 2-1 win and advance to the finals.

In the finals against Southern, Texas lost at #1 doubles and Garza and Ereckson lost a close third set tiebreaker at #2 doubles. Neal Bobba was on his way to another win as he was leading Davis Dawson 6-3, 3-3 when the match was decided.

Hilll Country Classic WC Event This Weekend...Nationals Update

2011-09-23T16:03:00.002-05:00

Several UT players will be in action this weekend at the Hill Country Classic Wildcard Event at The Polo Club. The winner of this tournament will receive a wildcard into the main draw of the Hill Country Classic in October. The #1 seed is UT's Daniel Whitehead and the #2 seed is UT's Ben Chen. Also competing are several top ranked juniors and players from St. Edwards University. To see all the draws, click here.

*****************************

The Austin Men's 5.0 team won their first match at Nationals, beating a team from Colorado by the score of 2-1. Neal Bobba won his singles match in straight sets, while Jory Ereckson and Rick Garza won at #2 doubles 4-6, 6-3, 1-0.

Austin Teams Head to Nationals

2011-09-22T23:24:00.004-05:00

Two Austin area teams will be heading to the USTA National Championships this weekend. The 5.0 Men's team, captained by Eric Strawbridge, will be in Indian Wells, California. They are in a tough flight that includes the team from Southern California. Click here for more information.

The Women's 4.0 team, captained by Camden Bobeck, will be competing in Tucson, Arizona, in a flight with teams from Virginia, Utah and Nebraska. More information can be found here.

Good Luck !

Polo Club to Host Kid's Day October 9th

2011-09-20T22:10:00.003-05:00

The Polo Club will host a Kids Day on October 9th, 2011. This event will take place during the qualifying rounds for the Austin Hill Country Classic $15,000 Futures Event. The schedule of events is as follows:

10am: Second Round of Qualifying Play

2:00pm: Free Clinics for Kids and Adults
Prize Courts and Fast Serve Contest
Autographs from Pro Players

3:30pm: Kids vs. Pros

Call 512-829-4340 for more information.

Courtyard Cougars Win at Senior Sectionals

2011-09-18T21:49:00.003-05:00

Congratulations to the Courtyard Cougars for winning the Women's 4.0 USTA Senior League Sectional Championship in Tyler this weekend. The Cougars, captained by Sharon Coudert, will now advance to the USTA National Championships at Indian Wells. After going 3-0 in pool play, the Austin representatives beat San Antonio 2-1, thanks to wins from the teams of Coudert and Anne Blackwood and Vicki Rogers and Karen Shields. In the finals against Houston, Coudert/Blackwood and Rogers/Shields won in straight sets and the team of Tina Matthews and Rosemarie Smith had split sets when the match was decided.

Congratulations and Good Luck at Nationals !

Austin Teams Head to Senior Sectionals

2011-09-15T21:36:00.004-05:00

The 2011 USTA Texas Senior League Championships will be held this weekend, September 16-18, in Tyler. Click here to check out all the schedules. Mike Davis' 4.5 team will open play against Dallas at 1pm on Friday. The Women's 4.5 team, captained by Linda Warner starts against Houston at 11:30 on Friday.

******************************

The Austin Hill Country Classic Wild Card Event will be held next weekend, September 23-25th. The winner of this tournament is awarded a main draw wildcard into the $15,000 Futures Event that will be held on October 8-16th. To enter, click here, deadline is Sunday, September 18th.

Berry Creek Pro-Am Saturday Sept. 17th

2011-09-13T23:46:00.004-05:00

There will be a Pro-Am event at Berry Creek Country Club this Saturday, September 17, from 1pm to 5pm. This is a fundraising event for the Austin Men's 5.0 team that is going to Nationals. The Public is invited to come watch and enjoy the festivities. There will be good food and good tennis. For more information call 930-3783 or email:

Jereckson@Berrycreekcc.com

Austin Winners at Adult Sectionals

2011-09-11T21:36:00.002-05:00

Congratulations to all the Austin area players who participated in the Texas Adult Sectionals Tournament in San Antonio. Click here to see all the draws. There were several outstanding performances from Austin players, including the following:

Juan DeKruyff- Won the Men's 30's singles draw, beating San Antonio's Scott Works in three sets.
Kevin Pimm- Won the Men's 4.0 singles draw.
Amanda Sevin- Winner of the Women's 3.5 singles draw.
Joe Morris- Teamed with former UT teammate Jon Wiegand to win the Men's Open doubles.
Jennifer Martin and Melanie Ludick- Won the Women's 3.0 doubles.
Geovana Ricaldi- Won the 3.5 Women's doubles.
Andrea Moynihan and Gay Pollock- Finalists, Women's 4.0 Doubles.

Texas Adult Sectional Draws....Yonex Rackets for Sale

2011-09-08T22:25:00.004-05:00

Good Luck to all the Austin players who are playing in the Texas Adult Sectionals in San Antonio this weekend, it should be a fun tournament. Check out all the draws here. As for myself, I'll be in beautiful Belton for my kids ZAT tournament.

*****************************

Word on the street is that Russ Needler is skipping town, taking his tennis to the windy city of Chicago. In the meantime, he is selling his Yonex RDIS Mid Plus (98) frames, grip size is 4 5/8 and the condition on these frames is excellent. If you're interested, Contact Russ at:

net_rusher@hotmail.com

Labor Day Open Results

2011-09-05T18:04:00.011-05:00

It wasn't too hot for Austin's Labor Day Open, but the gusting winds caused fits for some players this year. In the end it was the veteran players who were able to keep it together and pull out the victories. The men's 4.5 singles draw was a good example as all eight seeded players went out after their first matches. Unseeded Bernardo Fernandez won the title, rallying from 3-6, 2-5 to win 6-2 in the third set in the finals. Also unseeded, Jason Wilks won the Men's Open title, as he edged by Juan DeKruyff in the semi-finals and then beat #1 seed Ronald Najera 6-4, 6-4 in the finals. Click here for all the draws. All Austin area winners:

M Open singles: Jason Wilkes
M 5.0 singles: Steve Johnson
M 4.5 singles: Bernardo Fernandez
M 4.0 singles: Kevin Pimm
W 3.5 singles: Andrea Vargas
M 4.5 doubles: Andy Swanson/Charlie Johnson
M 3.5 doubles: Allen Brinkley/Raymond Chin
M 3.0 doubles: Steve Cossette/Philip Hale
W 4.0 doubles: Camden Bobeck/Jane Flynn
W 3.5 doubles: Sharon Dill/Geovana Ricaldi
W 3.0 doubles: Maryanne McKenzie/Erica Millard
MXD Open: Jason Wilkes/Kristi Francis
MXD 4.0: Molly Dahlstrom/Matthew Hale
MXD 3.5: Andrew Herren/Robyn Ridlehuber

Labor Day Draws....NYT Times Blog

2011-08-29T22:58:00.004-05:00

The draws are up for Austin's 2011 Labor Day Open. Click here to view all the draws. It looks like the numbers are pretty good again for this tournament, with 256 entrants. The Men's 4.5 singles draw is pretty healthy with 31 applicants.

****************************

The New York Times always has a lot of good tennis coverage when the U.S. Open starts, I really like the Straight Sets Blog, check out the story about journeyman Michael Yani ("at the acropolis").

The times also ran a very cool video feature on creating racket head speed on the serve.

USTA Mixed Updates

2011-08-24T21:44:00.002-05:00

Congratulations to the following teams for winning their divisions in the USTA Mixed Doubles leagues:

Mixed 10.0 - Dial 10.0, Captained by Colleen Dial
Mixed 9.0- Grapevine, Captained by Cherie Hall
Mixed 8.0-Having a Ball 8, Captained by Lawrence Rountree
Mixed 7.0- Having a Ball, Captained by Lawrence Rountree

Labor Day Tournament Deadline Extended to 8/24

2011-08-22T21:45:00.002-05:00

If you haven't signed up for Austin's 2011 Labor Day Open, there is still time, as the deadline to enter has been extended until Wednesday, August 24th. To register on-line, click here.

Summer Jam XIV Results

2011-08-21T13:14:00.010-05:00

The Summer Jam XIV was held over the weekend with over 100 competitors from all over Texas and beyond participating. I will post a list of the local winners when Tennislink has been updated.

USTA Men's Senior 4.5 League Wraps up

2011-08-15T23:28:00.006-05:00

Mike Davis' Formula One Senior 4.5 team clinched a spot at Senior Sectionals over the weekend, when they beat Lakeway Lightning by the score of 2-1. Tim Klitch and Jeff Fifield and Alan Williams and Kevin Hopson won for F1, while Tom Judson and Tom Skowronek edged Mark Richter and Tony Lum in a third set tiebreaker for Lakeway.

Formula One will head to Tyler September 16-18 for Senior Sectionals.

Sectionals Update: 4.0 Women, 5.0 Men Win, 4.5 Men Advance to Finals

2011-08-14T17:15:00.007-05:00

(Photos courtesy of USTA Texas, click here to see the USTA photo galleries)

Two Austin Teams won their respective Divisions at Sectionals this weekend and advanced to Nationals. In Women's play, the Rockin' Racquets edged Dallas 3-2 in the Women's 4.0 finals. At #1 singles Linda Fritsch outlasted her opponent 7-5, 2-6, 1-0. Also winning for Austin were the doubles teams of Camden Bobeck and Jane Flynn and Joan Gibbs and Jill Pesoli.

In Men's 5.0 play, The Team went undefeated to take the title, as they got some great play from Neal Bobba and Jason Wilks at singles, and doubles play from Eric Strawbridge, Sean Fifield, Greg Gormley, Jorey Ereckson, Rick Garza, Steve Creel and David Reiter.

The Lakeway Men's 4.5 team advanced all the way to the finals before falling to Dallas 4-1. (Correction, score was 3-2, Torres won when his opponent retired) Justin Archer won at #1 singles and Andres Torres was serving for the second set in his match against an opponent that looked to be cramping up. Fred Hall and Ed Brady lost a third set tiebreaker to a very strong team in Phy Pham and Hai Nguyen. According to people who saw the match the second and third sets were very high level and just a few points separated the two teams.

Congratulations to all of the Austin teams who participated at Sectionals this year.

Sectionals Update

2011-08-13T21:32:00.003-05:00

(Photo courtesy of USTA Texas/GH, check out the Photo Gallery here)

In Men's 5.0 play at Sectionals, "The Team" ran the table, winning all four of their matches, winning 10 lines and losing only twice. Still, there were some close calls as they scraped by Houston in a couple of third set tiebreakers and also beat Dallas 2-1. Congratulations to captain Eric Strawbridge and the rest of The Team.

In Men's 4.5 play at Sectionals, Lakeway bounced back from losing their first match to beat Fort Worth and Abilene 5-0 to take first place in their flight. I heard they may be playing Waco in the semi-finals on Sunday, which will be interesting as Waco has Austinites Andy Swanson and Prashanth Ananth on their roster.

In Women's 4.0 play, The Rockin' Racquets rolled through the competition to take first place in their division. They went 4-0, including a 4-1 win over second place NETX.

Good Luck to all the Austin Teams playing on Sunday.

Sectionals 4.0-Open This Weekend

2011-08-10T21:33:00.003-05:00

Sectionals will be played this weekend for teams in the 4.0-Open levels. Click here for schedules and more. Good Luck to the following teams:

Women's 4.0: Rockin' Raquets, Captained by Camden Bobek
Women's 4.0 WC: Tennacious, Captained by Martha Ware
Men's 4.0: Crushers, Captained by Lawrence Rountree
Men's 4.0 WC: Landsharks, Captained by Lewis De La Rosa
Women's 4.5: Serve Aces and Limes, Captained by Lori Cusano
Men's 4.5: Lakeway Thunder, Captained by Rick Shirley
Women's 5.0: Dial 5.0, Captained by Colleen Dial
Men's 5.0: The Team, Captained by Eric Strawbridge

Austin 3.0 Women Advance to Finals at Sectionals

2011-08-07T22:05:00.002-05:00

Congratulations to the Austin Women's 3.0 team that advanced all the way to the finals at the USTA Sectional Championships before losing a close 3-2 decision to Dallas. The Austin team, The Kickin' Aces, which was based out of Steiner Ranch and captained by Melanie Ludick, went 3-0 in flight play, and beat Wild Fort Worth 3-2 in the semi-finals.

The Dog Days of Summer

2011-07-28T16:19:00.004-05:00

Wow, things are pretty dead here on the ATB, not much going on around town. It seems like the oppressive heat, combined with a Davis Cup hangover, has zapped the Blog. I'll be in San Francisco (68 degrees ?) starting July 29th, so I may not get a chance to post for a few days. At any rate, here are some updates.

-Sectionals is just around the corner, with the 2.5-3.5 leagues competing in Richardson the weekend of August 5-7, and the 4.0 and above teams meeting in Dallas the weekend of August 12-14th. Good Luck to all the Austin teams who will be competing at Sectionals. Click here for more information. Captains, send me your updates from Dallas.

-Jack Sock Turns Pro. I know there are a lot of UT fans who were hopeful that Sock would bring his game to Austin for a semester or two, but this week he announced that he would be turning professional. For more on this story, click here.

-Former Longhorns on the Pro Circuit. Former UT #1 Dimitar Kutrovsky, who is currently ranked #576, has advanced into the quarterfinals of The Lewis and Clark Community College Futures Tournament in Illinois. In the doubles draw, Josh Zavala teamed with current UT player Jean Andersen to advance to the semi-finals. Click here to see the draws.

-Don't forget to sign up for The Summer Jam XIV Tournament, which will be played August 19-21st. To sign up on-line, click here.

CATA Nothing But Doubles Results

2011-07-24T19:06:00.007-05:00

Check out all the draws for the CATA Nothing But Doubles Tournament.

Congratulations to the winners:

Men's 3.5 Doubles: Mark Kizer and Charles Lewis
Men's 4.0 Doubles: Andrew Portnoy and Reagan Willman
Men's 4.5 Doubles: Tim Frick and John Vacalis
Women's 3.0 Doubles: Esther Garcia and Clarissa Vazquez
Women's 3.5 Doubles: Brenda Bianchi and Sharon Dill
Women's 4.0 Doubles: Gay Myrick and Nancy Nitardy
Women's 4.5 Doubles: ? ? (Maybe someone can tell me who won)
Mixed 3.5 Doubles: Andrew Herren and Robyn Ridlehuber
Mixed 4.0 Doubles: Molly Dahlstrom and Matthew Hale

CATA Nothing But Doubles Tournament Pictures

2011-07-23T17:44:00.012-05:00

(Click on pictures to enlarge)

Click here for the updated draws.

Mike Davis: Annual Report From Mason

2011-07-20T22:50:00.006-05:00

Check out: www.masontennisassociation.com

Sports Illustrated article about Mason Tennis, Click here.

This is my annual write up of my recollections of the Dr Pepper Open for the Austin Tennis Blog, and the tennis community in Austin. I wanted to include the above picture of Roy Lehmberg, as I think it depicts as much about the character of the tournament as it does the man himself. Man, I would have loved to line up across from those two, well maybe not, but I am crazy like that. I do my very best to tell the Mason Tennis Story to all that will listen, no matter what time of year it is. I have been coming to the Dr Pepper Open since 2000 when our friend and teammate Kurt Thomas, invited the whole Nationals bound 4.5 team out to the Blockhouse Creek Ranch for the weekend and a little tennis. Little did I know, that I would fall under the spell of Mason, its people, and a slice of tennis Americana that is impossible to find today. I try to tell people about the Dr Pepper anytime I get the chance, because I truly feel like it is a little like what tennis in a small town used to be. It's how I learned, on a concrete court with a chain link net, in the small West Texas town of Anson. My Uncle played tennis for Mary Hardin Simmons back in the day and my Dad played Regionals for Anson High, so that was my lucky in to tennis. I wish I had grown up in Mason and played on a winner every year.

As a group, we have been trying to get as many folks from Austin to come out with us each and every year. Everyone to a person has a great time, even the ones that say they are afraid of bugs. We have been lucky to stay at the Blockhouse Creek Ranch for the first 5 years and then when our host could not attend, Lea Sauls steps up and gives us the lucky in to meet the man, the legend, Roy Lehmberg, at the Lehmberg Ranch, on the mighty Llano. So, somehow we have been lucky to get tied in with the Thomas Blockhouse Creek Ranch, and Lehmberg Das Spiel Haus for the Tournament for the last 10 years, which has been a complete gift to each and every one of us. We have been truly blessed as a bunch. Of course, I learned all about Mrs. Talent and her achievement of getting so many Ranchers to build Tennis courts on their property, and began the dominance of Mason High School. I think my favorite image I have of the tournament, is playing on a ranch court as part of the tournament. It was great, chicken wire fence, horseshoe handles on the gate, and the cows came over to watch us play. I figured out later that they must feed those cows by the tennis court, because the hung out watching. It was amazing. I want to thank Paul Smith, the TD, who we first met on the telephone coming into town with our team in 2000. We needed to string a racquet and Rocky Greenwood was on the phone with Paul. He got off the phone and said, you guys are not going to believe this, but this guy Paul gave us directions to his house, told a car load of total strangers to go in the unlocked back door of his house and use his stringer, and to leave it unlocked when we left. That was our very first introduction to the "way" in Mason and the years of fun that was to follow. This year we all got to see the Dairy Queen sign lit up at night proclaiming, "Welcome Tennis Players". Some other highlights were the pics we took to the "Loose Livestock" signs. That cracked me up, as you can see we were easily entertained.

I think the last thing for me personally, is that I play better in Mason than I do anywhere else. It must be the rarefied Mason Air, and every year, I can hardly wait for the tournament. In 2010 ,I was in the Intensive Care Unit in Seton and my Open doubles partner for the last 5 years, Michael Friedman, asked me while I was in the hospital bed and we were watching Wimbledon, "am I going to have to find another partner for Mason this year'? Man, I nearly jumped up out of the bed and said, hell no, the Dr. says I only have to stay off the court for 1 week and Mason is in 2 weeks! We both laughed and eventually still made the quarters last year on real short tennis notice. Not to be out done, this year I have had a couple injections in my L5 lower back and only started playing a couple weeks ago when one of our guys did not show for a senior match and I had to jump in. So, this year we lost in the Semifinals in a breaker, I had no business playing and serving like that. Heck, I was worried that I would not be able to finish the first match, let alone play four. The wonders of modern medicine as well as the altitude in Mason. Almost every set we played was a tie breaker this year. I really like playing the super champs, and college kids that play Open every year. Mike Friedman has proven that he is strong enough to carry an Ox to victory out there, believe me I know. Much thanks to Mike for his friendship and great tennis game. This year, Austinites, Trey Nesloney and Greg Dyer defended their Open Doubles Title from last year. Friedman and Lemons played in the Semi finals in Open Mixed. Long time Austinite, Revis Kanak and Jeff Charlton won the Mens 45's, Revis has won three years in a row. Fred Schlotterback, Kathryn Hubbard, Kathryn Lemons, Michael Friedman, and I represented the Das Spiel Haus well again in 2011 and we can't wait for 2012.

CATA Doubles Draws...Kramer vs. Mats

2011-07-18T23:27:00.004-05:00

The draws for the CATA Nothing But Doubles tournament are out, and it looks like there are some good sized draws. The Women's 4.0 draw has 28 teams, including teams from Tyler, Fredricksburg, and Temple. The Men's 4.5 draw has 12 teams competing. To see all the draws, click here.

****************************

Kevin Kramer had a great tennis experience recently when he went to Beaumont to participate in a Wilander on Wheels tennis clinic. If you aren't familiar with Wilander on Wheels, see the website here. Kevin has written a blog about his experience which includes some nice pictures, check it out here.

Early Season Ratings Out

2011-07-15T13:26:00.003-05:00

Here is the link for the 2011 Early Season ratings.

Only saw a few surprises on the Men's side, Blake Daniels and Manny Solorio are rated at 5.0 now. Neal Bobba is rated at 5.5 and Justin Archer is a 5.0. There is also an excellent 5.0 doubles player who was somehow rated at 4.5, which I'm sure has sent several 4.5 captains scrambling for the phone. Keep in mind that these ratings are preliminary and may change at the end of the year.

Rackets For Sale Summer Edition

2011-07-13T18:56:00.009-05:00

For Sale: Wilson BLX Pro Open, Excellent Condition 9/10, Four available, for specs, click here. Grip sizes 41/4 and 43/8, Contact Roy Cobb at:

rcobb@kpmg.com.

SOLD: For Sale: Wilson Surge Junior Racket. This is a 25" racket, 100 inch frame, 100% graphite, my kids used this when they first started out and it's a rock solid frame. Asking $20. Email me at: atatu2005@yahoo.com.

SOLD For Sale: Volkl Quantum Scorcher, Headsize is 102 inches, Full size 27" inch frame, very light and low swingweight. This is a great frame for kids moving up to a full size racket or for smaller adults. Grip Size is 41/4 Asking $25. Contact: atatu2005@yahoo.com

For Sale: Volkl Power Bridge 8. Several available. Excellent condition, like new. For specs, click here. Grip size 43/8. Contact Roy Cob: rcobb@kpmg.com.

Head Liquid Metal Radical, classic frame. Head size is 98 inches, grip size is 4 3/8ths. Condition is good, 8/10. Asking $25, contact me at atatu2005@yahoo.com

Email me if you have any frames you want to sell here.

Reminder- CATA Doubles Tournament Deadline

2011-07-12T10:38:00.003-05:00

Just a quick reminder that the deadline for the CATA Nothing But Doubles Tournament is coming up on Wednesday, July 13th. The tournament will take place on July 22-24th. To register now, click here.

Davis Cup Wrap Up

2011-07-10T22:45:00.004-05:00

Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

Mardy Fish lost another heart breaker today, falling to David Ferrer 7-5, 7-6, 5-7, 7-6, to give Spain the 3-1 win in the Davis Cup Quarterfinals. It was a weekend of missed opportunities, as the US team was unable to finish on a number of different occasions. One thing is for sure, Mardy Fish is currently the best American player, and he showed tremendous fight in both of his singles matches. While I'm sure most ATB readers are disappointed with the outcome of the matches, there are a lot of positives to take from the weekend:

-The number of people, both kids and adults, who were exposed to such a high level of tennis. Seeing professional tennis in person is an entirely different experience from watching it on TV.

-Great fan support all weekend long.

-Fantastic job by all the local volunteers, and don't forget the ball kids and flag bearers. The Garza family deserves special mention for all that they did.

-The USTA Texas put on a great tennis festival last week.

-It was a great showcase for the City of Austin and all that the city has to offer.

-The USTA announced that they will refurbish courts at the Austin Tennis Center, as part of the Davis Cup Legacy program. Click here to read more.

-We finally got some more local media coverage of tennis, thank you to the Austin American Statesman.

And a few random thoughts:

-If Andy Roddick could have converted one of the points when he was serving at 5-4, 40-0 against Ferrer, would things have been different ? Even if Ferrer had still won the match, maybe he would not have been quite as fresh today.

-They always say it's a game of inches, and the Hawk-Eye shows it can be a game of centimeters. Again, think back to Friday night when the set point against Ferrer was corrected by the system.

-Where did everyone get those clickers ? I must have missed it when they were giving them out, pretty annoying, but yeah, I wanted one.

-Watching Ferrer play today, I was thinking "No human being could beat this guy" - then I was reminded by Jack that Tsonga hit right through him.

-The cheerleaders were pretty cool, and who was the guy wearing the "Ace" mascot outfit ? Is that a full time gig ?

-I liked all the music they played during the changeovers, but was really hoping they would play ABBA's "Fernando" after he missed all those volleys during the doubles.

Bryan Bros. Keep USA Alive

2011-07-09T21:59:00.003-05:00

(Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

The Erwin Center was rocking this afternoon as Bob and Mike Bryan rallied to beat Marcel Granollers and Fernando Verdasco 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to keep the US Davis Cup teams slim hopes alive for another day. For awhile, it looked like the unthinkable might happen, the Bryans would lose and the USA would be knocked out 3-0 before the reverse singles on Sunday. After blowing a set point and losing the first set tiebreaker, the Bryans broke the Spanish team early in the second set and never looked back in winning three 6-4 sets. I have to say that Ganollers was pretty solid out there, but Verdasco looked really shaky, missing several easy volleys. The Bryan brothers looked very tight at the beginning, but their experience seemed to be the difference as the match went on.

*****************************
A few notes:

-Juan DeKruyff and wife Chelsea were doing a pretty good celebration dance between games, but for some reason, the cameras never focused on them.

-Ran into Dr. Dave Phillips, he has not played in two years and is still nursing his shoulder.

-The Net Heads were out in full force on both Friday and Saturday, including their newest guest member, Gentry Sparling.

US Down 0-2 After Day 1

2011-07-08T22:19:00.003-05:00

(Photo by AP)
(Photo by AFP)

Well, not much to say about the matches today, I'm too exhausted and disappointed to write anything. The Fish vs. Lopez match was a classic and I'm glad I saw it, but disappointing nonetheless. Great to see so many familiar faces at the Erwin Center today, hopefully tomorrow will be a bit better for the US fans.

The Updated Davis Cup Tickets for Sale/Wanted Post

2011-07-07T11:00:00.006-05:00

If you have tickets to sell email me at atatu2005@yahoo.com.

Tickets For Sale:

-TWO TICKETS FRIDAY-SUNDAY, SECTION 62, ROW 21, SEATS 5 AND 6. FACE VALUE IS $180, SELLING FOR $120, FIRST COME FIRST SERVE. CONTACT:
Genspar@yahoo.com

-Four tickets together for Saturday and Sunday, Section 33, Row 19, $260 each, contact: Tosha at (512) 848-0598.

-USTA Texas has some extra tickets for sale, contact Stephanie Arena:
SArena@texas.usta.com

-Two tickets for sale, lower mezzanine section 74, row 5, seats 5 and 6, $150 each, contact:Alfredo: 512-535-7343, email alfredo@ahadreamhomes.com

-Two Tickets for Sunday available, Section 24, Row 29, asking $90. Contact Michael Friedman, call or text: 512-567-8985.

Davis Cup Fundraiser/Party Update !

2011-07-06T21:42:00.003-05:00

Here's the latest update for the Party that ATB is co-hosting Thursday night, there will be a pair of Davis Cup Tickets being auctioned off, as well as some great door prizes.

WHO: Lovers of Tennis and General Public

WHAT: Davis Cup Kickoff Party with music by London Calling

WHEN: Thursday, July 7... starts at 7 pm

WHERE: The Ranch, 710 West 6th Street, Downtown Austin (located next to Opal Divines)

WHY: Show our support for Davis Cup... portion of proceeds to benefit Project Nepal

HOW: $20 ticket price to be purchased at door

In order to kickoff the Davis Cup weekend in true Austin fashion, Anthony Tatu, Gentry Sparling, Zhenya Barysheva and Bob Woody will be hosting the event of the year!!! Held at THE RANCH on West 6^th Street on Thursday, July 7, the event will include door prizes, $2 Corona Light and a performance by one of the best cover bands in the state of Texas, LONDON CALLING. Come party with all the people (THIS MEANS YOU!!!) who make Austin the most awesome tennis community in the world. Be sure to toast with a drink created especially for this event: the Overhead SMASH… oh, YEAH!!! Let’s show the world that Austin is the Live Music AND TENNIS Capital of the World!!!

Do you want to attend any of the Davis Cup matches, but you're having trouble finding tickets? Fret no more!!! OPAL DIVINES and the USTA have graciously donated Davis Cup tickets. A silent auction will be held for the duration of the party (7/7/11 starting at 7 pm at The Ranch) giving you an opportunity to score any or all of these tickets so you can see the historic matches... thanks OPAL DIVINES and USTA!!!

Davis Cup: Evan King's Blog

2011-07-06T08:45:00.002-05:00

University of Michigan All American Evan King is blogging this week about his experiences in Austin serving as a practice partner for the Davis Cup team, click here to check it out.

USTA Tennis Festival Pictures

2011-07-05T21:30:00.012-05:00

It's Davis Cup Week in Austin...Courtyard Winners

2011-07-04T17:46:00.006-05:00

You know something's up when the Statesman has a tennis article in the sports page. Click here to read John Maher's article about the ITF testing the court that was put down at the Erwin Center.

I haven't heard any stories yet about Spanish Davis Cup members being sighted, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time before Feliciano Lopez is spotted at Barton Springs shirtless.

*****************************
I'm going to plug the Thursday night Party that I'm co-hosting at The Ranch on West 6th Street one more time. Scroll down to the previous post for all the details, this is a fundraiser and we are expecting a good crowd of people, including the famed "Netheads" who are coming in from all over the country. Please come on out if you can and support Project Nepal. Click here for the Facebook Page.

******************************
The USTA Texas Section will host a free Tennis Festival on Tuesday, July 5, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the University of Texas’ Penick-Allison Tennis Center in downtown Austin. The festival will include an appearance by members of the U.S. Davis Cup team and will feature games, music and activities for people of all ages and abilities. Select participants will be able to play tennis with the U.S. Davis Cup team. Parking is available at Trinity Garage near Trinity and E. MLK Jr. Blvd.

**********************************
Congratulations to all the winners at The Courtyard Hotter Than Heck Tournament, click here to see all the draws.

Men's Open singles: John Swords
Men's 4.5 singles: Chris Lewis
Men's 4.0 singles: Keith Briscoe
Men's 3.5 singles: Charels Rathgeber
Men's 3.0 singles: Jeff Riley
Women's 4.5 singles: Pollyanna Clark
Women's 4.0 singles: Jill Pesoli
Women's 3.5 singles: Andrea Swanson
Women's 3.0 singles: Assel Kussainova
Men's Open Doubles: Michael Friedman/Aaron Dial
Men's 4.0 Doubles: Suganth Paul
Men's 3.5 Doubles: Wayne Graham/Greaven Graham
Women's 4.0 Doubles: Ericka Woodard/Darya Karoukina
Women's 3.5 Doubles: Julie Leavell/Susan Pyle
Women's 3.0 Doubles: Pam Nocera/Pam Perez
Mixed 4.5: Diana Garcia/Puneet Mahajan
Mixed 4.0: Molly Dahlstrom/Matthew Hale
Mixed 3.5: Sharon Dill/Wayne Graham
Mixed 3.0: Dave Idemoto/Susie Jurries

ATB To Co-Host Pre DC Party Thursday July 7th

2011-06-29T22:00:00.004-05:00

Big News, the Austin Tennis Blog is co-hosting a big party on Thursday, July 7th downtown at The Ranch on 710 West 6th Street. Those of you who know me are aware that I am involved with a charity called Project Nepal, which is an organization which supports orphans in Nepal. A portion of the proceeds from this event will go to Project Nepal, so I'm really hoping that all ATB readers will come out to this event. This event is the night before the Davis Cup matches, so join your fellow tennis players and ATB readers in anticipation of this historic event. The official press release, courtesy of Gentry Sparling, is below:

Click here for the Facebook Link

WHO: Lovers of Tennis and General Public
WHAT: Davis Cup Kickoff Party with music by London Calling
WHEN: Thursday, July 7... starts at 7 pm
WHERE: The Ranch, 710 West 6th Street, Downtown Austin (located next to Opal Divine's)
WHY: Show our support for Davis Cup... portion of proceeds to benefit Project Nepal
HOW: $20 ticket price to be purchased at door

In order to kickoff the Davis Cup weekend in true Austin fashion, Anthony Tatu, Gentry Sparling, Zhenya Barysheva and Bob Woody will be hosting the event of the year!!! Held at The Ranch on West 6th Street on Thursday, July 7, the event will include door prizes, $2 Corona Light and a performance by one of the best cover bands in the state of Texas, LONDON CALLING. Come party with all the people (THIS MEANS YOU!!!) who make Austin the most awesome tennis community in the world. Be sure to toast with a drink created especially for this event: the Overhead SMASH… oh, YEAH!!! Let’s show the world that Austin is the Live Music AND TENNIS Capital of the World!!!

The Unofficial Davis Cup Tickets Wanted/For Sale Post

2011-06-29T10:58:00.017-05:00

If you have tickets to sell, or if you want tickets, send me your info at and I'll post here. No Scalpers, or dealers, please.

Email me at atatu2005@yahoo.com

Tickets Wanted:

-Looking to buy one ticket for Friday's matches, contact Adam at:
mobai212@gmail.com

Tickets For Sale:

-Two tickets for sale, lower mezzanine section 74, row 5, seats 5 and 6, $150 each, contact:
Alfredo: 512-535-7343, email alfredo@ahadreamhomes.com

-One Ticket for Sunday, Section 24, Row 30. $100 (face value), contact:
jimwahrer@msn.com

-2 tickets for each day - Section 66, Row 17, Seats 11 and 12

Just looking for what I paid ($213 total) or best offer, contact:

cerimorganyahoo-dc@yahoo.com

-Michael Friedman has a pair of $270 tickets for sale, contact him at:
michaelpfriedman@sbcglobal.net

-SOLD-1 Ticket, Section 65, Row 19, Seat 1. Call Kevin Courter, 512-560-8750.

-SOLD-Two Tickets for all three days , selling for face value of $298 each, Section 26, Row 28, seats 10 and 11. Contact:
Melissa Smith (512) 587-3274.

-Scott Sevin is selling a pair of $270 tickets for the three days, asking $600, contact:
scottsevin@austin.rr.com

-Six tickets (3 day passes) Section 61, Row 20, seats 9-14, $110 each. Contact:
Gildeshazo@yahoo.com

-Two tickets, upper arena, Section 29, Row 27. Asking $600 for the pair, contact:
Matt@BlueChipRecovery.com

-SOLD-I have two extra pairs of tickets, one pair of low arena seats and one pair of mid arena seats, please email Bernie at:
deussner@gmail.com.

-SOLD-I have one ticket good for all three days, just asking face value of $298, contact Donnie Pollard at:
donnie55@juno.com.

Weekend Update: Nadal Out of DC ?

2011-06-26T23:41:00.005-05:00

Ok, lets start off with the bad news first. As noted in a comment by Jorge today there are reports coming out that Nadal will not be joining the Spanish Davis Cup in Austin in two weeks. It is disappointing to say the least, but I guess the good news is that the US chances of winning the tie just went up significantly. Click here to read more, and if you're still looking for tickets scroll down to yesterday's post.

*****************************

It looks like the 10sportal.com Open was a success, congratulations to all the Austin area winners:

Men's Open: Anders Eriksson
Men's 4.5 singles: Andy Merritt
Men's 3.0 singles: Steve Cossette
Women's 3.5 singles: Andrea Swanson
Women's 3.0 singles: Assel Kussainova
Men's Open Doubles: Anders Eriksson/Emilien Rabin
Women's 3.5 doubles: Loretta Charlton/Ronnica Matousek
******************************
The Men's 4.5 League wrapped up on Saturday, with Westover beating Polo Club 4-1, to clinch second place. Congrats to both teams for great seasons. Alan Kleymeyer took some great video of the matches, which can be seen here.

Davis Cup Ticket Update

2011-06-25T15:27:00.002-05:00

Approximately 300 Davis Cup Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Monday, June 27, at 10am.

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., June 25, 2011 – The USTA announced today that approximately 300 tickets for the 2011 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas Quarterfinal between the United States and Spain will be made available to the general public on Monday, June 27, at 10 a.m. CT. The quarterfinal will be played at the Frank Erwin Center on The University of Texas campus in Austin, Texas, July 8-10,

The tickets will be sold as a three-day series with prices ranging from $90 to $500, and are available in all price levels. Tickets will only be available online by visiting www.texasboxoffice.com, and purchasers will be limited to four (4) tickets per order.

“A number of tickets are always held for contractual obligations. Between our sponsors and our television partners, both international and domestic, we have finalized their allocations so additional tickets can be made available”, said Jeff Ryan, Senior Director, USA Team Events. “The USTA is committed to affording this opportunity to as many fans and providing another chance to witness this world-class event held in a world-class city.”

The competition is expected to include Davis Cup stalwart Andy Roddick, who currently resides in Austin and is second all-time in U.S. Davis Cup singles victories with 33. World No. 1 and nine-time Grand Slam singles champion Rafael Nadal is expected to compete for Spain. This will be the first home tie for U.S. Davis Cup Captain Jim Courier, who is in his first year at the helm. This is the first home tie for the U.S. Davis Cup team since the 2009 first round in Birmingham, Ala. Since then, the U.S. has played in four consecutive away ties.

The best-of-five match series begins Friday, July 8, with two singles matches, featuring each country’s No. 1 player against the other country’s No. 2 player. Saturday’s schedule features the pivotal doubles match. The final day of play on Sunday will feature two “reverse singles” matches, when the No. 1 players square off followed by the No. 2 players meeting each other in the final match. All matches are best-of-five sets until one nation clinches the tie. A revised schedule for Sunday may take place if a team clinches in the third or fourth match.

Founded in 1900, Davis Cup is the world’s largest annual international men’s team competition with 125 nations competing this year. The U.S. leads all nations with 32 Davis Cup titles. The United States holds a 210-64 all-time Davis Cup record and owns the longest uninterrupted run in the World Group, dating back to 1989. For more information, including access to player and historical Davis Cup records, please go to www.usta.com/daviscup or www.daviscup.com.

Blog Bookie Picks

2011-06-24T22:51:00.004-05:00

How can the season be over already? The build up to the season seemed to take forever but the season itself went by like a flash. Congrats to Lakeway for going undefeated and good luck at sectionals. Hopefully Austin will get a wildcard and have two teams making the trip to Dallas in August. If so, this weekends sole match has serious implications for Westover. If they win, they secure second place and the potential wildcard spot. Let's get to the line:

Westover 5-0 over Polo - Westover has fielded solid teams throughout the year; expect them to bring a loaded team to this match. Polo stumbled last week against Passing Shots 4.5 but wins my most improved team of the year award. Look for a solid Westover win with one match going to a superbreaker.

Should be a great weekend for tennis – enjoy your time on the court. Good luck to everyone. Oh, by the way, odds are for entertainment purposes only.

- Blog Bookie

Davis Cup Activities: Update

2011-06-22T22:06:00.002-05:00

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., June 22, 2011 – The USTA announced today that it will host a variety of public events in Austin, Texas to give fans greater access to the players participating in the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas Quarterfinal between the United States and Spain, July 8-10 at the University of Texas’ Frank Erwin Center. Events include a free Tennis Festival hosted by USTA Texas; an appearance of the Mobile SmashZone; open practices sessions for both the U.S. and Spanish Davis Cup teams; and the official Davis Cup draw ceremony at Austin City Limits Live at The Moody Theater that will feature a special musical performance by Asleep at The Wheel.

The interest in this Davis Cup quarterfinal is as great as any event we have hosted in years,” said Jeff Ryan, USTA Senior Director of Team Events. “We have planned more activities around this event to give fans even greater access to the players as they prepare for three days of intense competition.”

U.S. Davis Cup Team Tennis Festival Hosted by USTA Texas

Tuesday, July 5 * 6-8:30 p.m.

The USTA Texas Section will host a free Tennis Festival on Tuesday, July 5, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the University of Texas’ Penick-Allison Tennis Center in downtown Austin. The festival will include an appearance by members of the U.S. Davis Cup team and will feature games, music and activities for people of all ages and abilities. Select participants will be able to play tennis with the U.S. Davis Cup team. Parking is available at Trinity Garage near Trinity and E. MLK Jr. Blvd.

Mobile Smash Zone

Wednesday, July 6 * 2:30-4:30 p.m.

SmashZone, the premiere fan interactive attraction at the US Open, will make a stop in Austin on Wednesday, July 6, from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the North Plaza (near the flagpoles) of the Frank Erwin Center. The free attraction, Mobile SmashZone, is a 53-foot trailer, which anchors four kid-sized tennis courts for youth play and complements the USTA’s ongoing 10 and Under Tennis initiative. The trailer features interactive activities, including a Tennis Magazine Green Screen Cover Shoot, Wii Tennis and Touch Screen Kiosks. Participants can also try their skills on any of the four 10 and Under Courts. Free parking is available on a first-come, first serve basis in Lot 108 on the corner of Red River and East 15th Street.

Open practice sessions

Wednesday, July 6 * 4-5 p.m. (U.S. team), 5-6 p.m. (Spanish team)

Following the Mobile SmashZone appearance, the U.S. and Spanish Davis Cup teams will each hold open practice sessions from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., at the Frank Erwin Center. The U.S. Davis Cup team practice will be open to the public at 4:00 p.m. and fans can also watch the first hour of the Spanish Davis Cup practice starting at 5:00 p.m.The event is free and limited to the first 600 fans, who will receive tickets on a first-come, first-serve basis at the North Box Office of the Frank Erwin Center, starting at 3:00 p.m. Doors will open at 3:45 p.m. Free parking is available on a first-come, first-serve basis in Lot 108 on the corner of Red River Street and E. 15^th Street.

Davis Cup Draw Ceremony

Thursday, July 7 * 12 noon

The Official Davis Cup Draw Ceremony will be open to the public on Thursday, July 7, at Austin City Limits Live at The Moody Theater. The draw ceremony will feature a special musical performance by nine-time Grammy Award-winning Asleep at The Wheel, followed by the introduction of the U.S. and Spanish Davis Cup teams and the making of the official draw. The event will begin at 12:00 noon (doors will open at 11:00 a.m.) and will be a ticketed event. Food and beverage will be available for purchase.

Tickets for the event are $5 plus fees, and the USTA will donate its proceeds to the Joplin Schools Tornado Relief Fund. Tickets go on sale on Friday, June 24, at 10:00 a.m. CT., and will be available online through www.acl-live.com or www.ticketfly.com, charge by phone at (877) 435-9849 or purchase in store at Waterloo Records.

USTA Texas to Host July 5th Tennis Festival

2011-06-22T00:08:00.003-05:00

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JUNE 21, 2011

U.S. Davis Cup team members to greet fans at festival featuring games, fun, free memberships to kids ages 10 and under

AUSTIN - The United States Tennis Association Texas section announced today that it will host a free Tennis Festival, open to the public, on Tuesday, July 5, from 6 to 8:30 p.m., at the UT Penick-Allison Tennis Center in downtown Austin. The U.S. Davis Cup Tennis Festival presented by USTA Texas will include an appearance by members of the U.S. Davis Cup Team that will be in Austin for the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas Quarterfinal against Spain.

The festival will feature games, music and activities for people of all ages and abilities. Free parking available after 5 p.m., in the Trinity Garage near Trinity and E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

"The USTA has long utilized team events and professional tournaments as an opportunity to reach out to local communities," said Jeff Ryan, Senior Director, USA Team Events. "The USTA Texas Section has done a wonderful job organizing this Tennis Festival, and I know the U.S. Davis Cup Team members are excited to interact with the tennis-loving Austin community."

Fans are encouraged to bring their tennis racquets and partake in the various on-court activities, which will include the chance to play with local professionals, participate in 10 and Under Tennis utilizing the QuickStart Tennis play format, and visit booths containing information about local tennis programming and sponsors.

"You will have a blast at the U.S. Davis Cup Team Tennis Festival," says Ken McAllister, USTA Texas Executive Director. "If you know some of the tennis stars, this will be your chance to see them in person, play a little tennis, and cheer for the U.S. team!"

For a limited time, the USTA is currently offering a free 1-year 10 and Under Junior membership for new members. Membership includes access to USTA Junior Tournaments, Jr. Team Tennis and four issues of Bounce magazine. USTA Texas will provide access for parents to register their children at the Tennis Festival.

The U.S. Davis Cup Team will face Spain at the Frank Erwin Center on the University of Texas campus, July 8-10th.

The competition is expected to include U.S. Davis Cup stalwart Andy Roddick, who currently resides in Austin and is second all-time in U.S. Davis Cup singles victories with 33. World No. 1 and nine-time Grand Slam singles champion Rafael Nadal is expected to compete for Spain. This will be the first home tie for U.S. Davis Cup Captain Jim Courier, who is in his first year at the helm, and the first home tie for the U.S. Davis Cup team since the 2009 first round in Birmingham, Alabama.

Founded in 1900, Davis Cup is the world's largest annual international men's team competition with 125 nations competing this year. The U.S. leads all nations with 32 Davis Cup titles. The United States holds a 210-64 all-time Davis Cup record and owns the longest uninterrupted run in the World Group, dating back to 1989. For more information, including access to player and historical Davis Cup records, please go to www.usta.com/daviscup or www.daviscup.com. Wilson is the official ball of the U.S. Davis Cup Team.

Men's 4.5 USTA Week Nine

2011-06-19T21:35:00.002-05:00

The Men's USTA season came to a close for the majority of the teams this past weekend. Lakeway was able to hold off Sharpshooters 3-2 to remain undefeated and finish in first place. Lakeway took the #1 singles line when Justin Archer beat Bryan Fuller 6-3, 6-4. In doubles, Lakeway also won at #1 doubles when Fred Hall and Andres Torres edged Torch Acosta and David Hoover 4-6, 6-1, 10-8. At the #3 line, Lakeway's team of Ed Brady and Rick Shirley beat David Harrison and Rodrigo Rotermund 7-5, 6-4. At #2 doubles, Tatu and James Hahn squeaked by Taylor Fyfe and Greg Rychlik 4-6, 6-4, 10-7. With the match already decided, Alex Retivov and Devin Stauffer were playing for pride, but that was apparently enough as they split sets. Retivov, who had already played a match earlier in the day, played a great tiebreaker and went up 9-6. Stauffer, however, did not quit and kept grinding and came all the way back to win the match 11-9. Both players were close to heat exhaustion at the end and it was a great match to watch.

Elswhere, Formula 1 beat Passing Shots Too by a 4-1 count, as Daniel Rockey and Tim Klitch made successful singles appearances for F1. In doubles the teams of Paul Gonzales/Fred Schlotterback and Greg Gold/Chris Schonfeld chalked up straight sets wins. PS2 took the #3 line when Jake Stine and Jacob Johnson won.

Westover rolled over a short handed Wilco team 5-0. Jay Henton won at #1 singles and the doubles teams of David Garrison/Russ Needler, Alan Kleymeyer/James Bronson, and Gentry Sparling/Igor Ponomarev all won for Westover.

Passing Shots pulled off an upset over Polo Club 4-1, which included three matches that went to super tiebreakers. At #2 singles, Jeff Rausch beat Bill Daniels 4-6, 6-4, 1-0. At the #1 doubles line Myles Gardner and Carl Morris won in straight sets. At #2 doubles, Haroon Barlas and Evan Segal beat Derrick and Dusty Duke 6-3, 6-7, 1-0, and at #3 doubles Mike Flynn and Clark Peterson beat Frank Daniels and Keith Jordan 6-4, 5-7, 1-0. Polo's only win came at #1 singles when Blake Daniels won in straight sets.

Finally Topspin upset Ad In 4-1, thanks to two defaulted lines and singles wins from Cong Nguyen and Prashanth Ananth.

Westover and Polo Club have a match to play next week, but unless Westover gets swept, they will assure themselves second place behind Lakeway, with F1 in third place and Sharshooters in fourth.

ATB Interview: Kellen Damico

2011-06-18T07:06:00.003-05:00

ATB Note: While playing for the University of Texas, Kellen Damico established a career record of record of 73-39 in singles and 69-28 in doubles. He was an All American in 2008 and is a former Wimbledon Junior Doubles Champion.

ATB: Kellen, after four years at UT, what do you think you gained from coming to Texas ?

KD: There are lots of things I have gained from Texas. Most importantly I learned how to mature and achieve an education. Those are two things that no one can take from me. I have clearly improved my tennis since arriving on campus, but those two things will stick with me forever.

ATB: What is your favorite on-court memory from your four seasons at UT ?

KD: I think the best on-court moment for me was clinching the match against Tennessee at the NCAA championships in the Sweet 16 to play Georgia. It was that moment that you dream about and the opportunity just fell in my lap and it panned out exactly the way you always hoped.

ATB: What are your future plans at this point ?

KD: I am currently taking a year off of school to try my shot at the professional tour. I have only a semester left until I graduate, but this is my time to go pro if I want to and I know I will come back and finish regardless of my age when I am done playing.

ATB: There is always a lot of debate about the value of playing college tennis versus turning professional out of high school, what are your thoughts on this ?

KD: It varies from player to player. Obviously guys like Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish who never went to college are having very good careers. However, John Isner is really the first collegiate tennis player since McEnroe to have really made it on tour. I think for me, going to college was the best decision because I had much to improve in my game before trying it out on the tour.

ATB: What advice would you give to a junior tennis player who wants to play College Tennis in the future ?

KD: The main thing I would say is to enjoy it. The four short years you have to play on a college team can easily be taken advantage of if you do not do it right. The team aspect of this sport is so unique that you really miss it when it is gone.

Kellen Damico is available for lesson and hitting sessions this summer, he can be reached at (303) 917-1822 (call or text). His rate is $40 per hour.

Blog Bookie Picks for Week 8

2011-06-17T00:02:00.002-05:00

Last week was another interesting week for the men's 4.5 league. Lakeway won a much closer than anticipated match against Topspin with the rest of the matches going as predicted. The dynamics of the league changed a great deal over the past few days (enough said - moving on) and the match between Lakeway and Sharpshooters has a lot more riding on it than it did a week ago. Let's get to the line.

Polo 4-1 over Passing Shots 4.5 - I can't say enough about Polo. They have had a very solid year and will roll over PS 4.5 this weekend. Who would have predicted that they would have won three matches this year 5-0? Chris Ahr may be the best doubles player in the league this year.

Westover 4-1 over Wilco - Westover still has an outside shot at 1st place and possibly getting the wildcard to sectionals if they can hold on to 2nd place. Expect Westover's depth to bring a decisive win this weekend.

Lakeway 3-2 over Sharpshooters - This will be a very competitive match and will probably see two or three superbreakers. Expect both teams to bring their heavy artillery with Fuller, Atherton and Stauffer in the mix for SS and Hall, Torres, Brady and Archer for Lakeway.

Formula One 4-1 over Passing Shots Too - F1 way too deep and will win the match with relative ease. Expect to see some lesser known players for F1 as they are out of the running for first place.

Ad In 3-2 over Topspin - Both of these teams have played well all year but have had a number of close losses. Nesloney and company will bring home the win in a very close match.

Good luck this weekend. And remember, odds are for entertainment purposes only.

Also, I'll be handing out Blog Bookie awards to the top five singles and doubles players in the league. Nominations? Post them on the blog and I'll discuss with AT.

- Blog Bookie

Yup...it's gone

2011-06-16T10:49:00.002-05:00

I had enough of the comments, some of you were crossing the line and getting into personal attacks. The Austin Tennis Blog exists to promote the sport of tennis in the Austin area, it's not a forum for airing grievances. I'm fine with some back and forth in the comments, but at some point it can go too far. I hate to be a censor, but ultimately, I have to make that call. I've had a few comments from people who blame the Blog for the recent DQ and I'm going to sit down and think about that a little bit. I think even if the Blog did not exist, where we are now people are going to carefully check out every good player on opposing teams using the Internet or other resources. However, the Blog definitely makes the situation worse and the comments can lead to bad feelings. At some point, the negatives of the Blog may outweigh the positives.

-AT

Blog Bookie Picks....Weekend Preview

2011-06-10T07:20:00.004-05:00

Congrats to all of the winning teams from last weekend as you continue to make me look good. I don’t expect this weekend to equal the excitement of last weekend but there are some good matches on tap. With the season winding down, determining which teams will bring out their strongest players becomes more difficult, but that is why I am paid the big bucks. Let’s get to the line.

Polo 4-1 over Wilco – Polo continues to show that they are the most improved team from last year as they almost won against Sharpshooters last weekend. I expect them to win big this weekend as Wilco has struggled all season and was blanked by PS2 last weekend. I think Wilco might be able to win a doubles line to avoid the shutout.

Sharpshooters 4-1 over Passing Shots 4.5 – Expect Sharpshooters to sweep singles and win two out of three doubles. Could be some interesting singles matches as both teams are full of solid veteran players. Raise your hand if you are excited to play Rausch or Morris for PS4.5. I’m not seeing many volunteers.

Westover 4-1 over Passing Shots Too – Westover continued a solid season with a 4-1 win over Ad In last weekend. Passing Shots Too is coming off a big 5-0 win over Wilco. Doubles depth and solid singles play will get Westover a win in this match.

Lakeway 5-0 over Topspin – Watch out Topspin as Lakeway will get back on the winning track after a close loss to Formula One last weekend. Lakeway cannot afford a loss as they still have an outside shot at a wildcard to sectionals provided they maintain second place. I do not expect to see Fred Hall this match due to injury but the rest of the lineup will be solid making it tough for Topspin to win a line.

Formula One 4-1 over Ad In – Congrats to Davis’ team for a great win last weekend. I expect some close matches in this one with a couple going to a superbreaker. However, F1 has two much horsepower and will win the team score handily. I doubt Wilks will be playing any more matches for F1 until sectionals.

Good luck this weekend. Please remember, odds are for entertainment purposes only.

- Blog Bookie

**************************

The draws are up for the Lost Creek Adult Classic and it looks like there will be some good matches, particularly in the Men's Open Draw.

**************************

Play starts this week in the Men's and Women's 4.5 Senior League, this season there are four Women's Teams and Three Men's Teams signed up. In the Men's League Formula 1 will be taking on I'd Hit That at Pharr at 9am.

Women's USTA Winners....Women's 4.5, 5.0 and Men's 5.0 Updates

2011-06-07T17:05:00.003-05:00

Congratulations to the following Women's USTA Teams for winning their playoffs last weekend:

Women's 3.0- Kickin' Aces
Women's 3.5 - Tightly Strung
Women's 4.0- Rockin' Rackets

Check out the pictues on the CATA Facebook Page.
******************************

In the Women's 4.5 league, Serve Aces and Limes is 5-0 with one match remaining against Fired Up North this weekend. Courtyard 4.5 finished the season 5-1 for the year and is currently in second place.

******************************
In the Men's 5.0 League, The Team is 5-0 on the season with three matches remaining in the season. Last Week The Team swept DeKruyff's squad 3-0 as they got wins from Neal Bobba in singles, and the doubles teams of Greg Gormley/Eric Strawbridge and Michael Friedman/David Reiter.
******************************

In the Women's 5.0 Leauge, Sharon McKinney's team is in first place with a 5-0 record.

Men's 4.5 USTA Update

2011-06-05T21:58:00.003-05:00

As predicted, the Formula 1 vs. Lakeway match was a close one, with F1 taking the win 3-2. The anticipated matchup between Justin Archer and Jason Wilkes never materialized, as Archer played doubles for Lakeway, teaming with Andy Merritt to beat Greg Gold and Gred Dyer 6-4, 6-1 at the #1 doubles line. At #2 doubles, Fred Hall and Andres Torres edged Tim Klitch and Fred Schlotterback 6-7, 6-4, 1-0. At #3 doubles, F1's team of Daniel Rockey and John Trautmann avoided the doubles sweep by beating Ed Brady and Alan Williams 7-6, 6-3. With F1 needing to take both singles lines, Manny Solorio took the #2 line against Rick Shirley 6-1, 6-3. At #1 singles, Jason Wilkes won the first set against Alex Retivov 6-3 and was comfortably ahead in the second set before taking his foot off the pedal a little bit and winning the second set in a tiebreaker. As Mike Davis noted in the comments section, it is always easy to second guess a captains decision when you are removed from the situation. Several people have asked why Archer did not player singles, and the information I have heard is that he had to attend his high school graduation. Lakeway was put in a position of having to pull off a doubles sweep and they almost accomplished that, but it's tough to beat Rockey at line #3 no matter who you put out there. At any rate, F1 is now firmly in control and Lakeway has to hang onto second place and hope for a wildcard to sectionals.

Elsewhere Westover beat Ad In by the score of 4-1, as they took both singles matches courtesy of Jay Henton and Connor Bond, and the doubles team of and Steve Gilmer/Alan Kleymeyer also won. Ad in defaulted one doubles line, but earned a point at #1 doubles when Trey Nesloney and Puneet Mahajan won.

Sharpshooters barely got by Polo Club 3-2, thanks to a singles win from Bryan Fuller and a doubles win by the team of Steve Atherton/James Hahn. Polo Club defaulted the #2 singles line but won the #1 doubles with Michael Larsson/Chirs Ahr and #3 doubles with Scott Hardey/Dusty Duke.

Topspin took at 3-2 win over Passing Shots. Greg Taylor and Michael Pan swept the singles for Topspin and Eric Addington/Mark Richter won again at #1 doubles. Passing Shots won the #2 and #3 doubles thanks to Mike Flynn/Scott Crews and David Jochetz and Michael Woods.

Finally, Passing Shots Too pulled off a 5-0 sweep over Wilco. Chris Lewis and Mark Calais won at singles for PS2 and the doubles teams of Bredt Norwood/Stephen Trejo, Paul Herbst/Jake Stine and Vince Delbar/David Delgado all won.

Blog Bookie Picks

2011-06-02T21:55:00.004-05:00

ATB received the following information from the Blog Bookie today, and I have no idea of the identity of the BB:

Captain Alert - Don't bother trimming your fingernails before this weekends matches as I expect each match to be a nail biter. These match-ups will go a long way in determining the outcome of the league. First place is on the line as Lakeway battles Formula One at Caswell at 3pm. This should be a great match - more on it later. The next battle looks to be for third place with Westover having the inside track. If Westover can manage a win against Ad In, they will have a firm grip on third place. If not, third place will be a dogfight between Sharpshooters and Polo with Westover still in the mix but needing some help. Let's get to the line.

Passing Shots Too 3-2 over Wilco - I've gone back and forth on this one a few times. I think PS Too will find a way to win it but by a slim margin.

Topspin 3-2 over Passing Shots 4.5 - Slightly stronger doubles for Topspin will help them win this match. Expect singles to split.

Sharpshooters 4-1 over Polo - Expect a good match between these two teams with one or two super breakers. Polo is much improved over last year and Sharpshooters has lost two tough matches this year. Can Daniels / Daniels sweep singles again? I don't see that happening this week as I see SS sweeping singles and winning two out of three doubles lines.

Westover 3-2 over Ad In - Ad In has been on the wrong end of a number of close matches and I expect this trend to continue. Westover wins one singles and two doubles. Expect two superbreakers and some tense moments in this match.

Lakeway vs Formula One - This is the match for all of the marbles. Winner is all but sure of going to sectionals. Loser will be praying for a wildcard. Will be very interesting to see the lineups as there are a few players that have seen limited or no action this year. I expect wins from the following players: Jason Wilks (F1), Daniel Rockey (F1), Ed Brady (LW) and Fred Hall (LW). Will Schonfeld or Livingston play for F1 this weekend? Will Archer play for LW? Lots of questions but at the end of the day, I think F1 is slightly stronger and will manage a VERY tight win with three or more superbreakers.

Should be a great weekend for tennis. Good luck to everyone. Oh, by the way, odds are for entertainment purposes only.

- Blog Bookie

Weekend Preview 6/4-6/5

2011-06-01T21:42:00.002-05:00

After a week off from USTA leagues, we have a big weekend coming up. On the Women's side there are playoffs going on for the 3.0, 3.5, and 4.0 levels. The matches will be played at UT Intramural courts at 9am, Noon and 3pm on Saturday.

In the Men's 4.5 league the showdown between Formula 1 and Lakeway Thunder will take place on Saturday at Caswell at 3pm, expect a large and loud crowd for that one. We are standing by for some input from the Blog Bookie in the next 48 hours.

On Sunday, play resumes in the 7.0, 8.0, 9.0, and 10.0 Mixed Doubles Leagues.

Westwood Wrap Up

2011-05-30T19:44:00.009-05:00

Congratulations to the following local players for their winning performances at the Westwood Senior Category II Championships:

Peter Markes: Men's 50's singles
Julie Cass: Women's 40 singles, Women's 40 doubles
Carol Cofer: Women's 80 singles,Women's 80 doubles
Rick and Adrian Garza: Father/Son doubles
Chris Haggard and Darin Pleasant: Men's 40's doubles
Michael Friedman and Kerry Minzenmayer: Men's 50's doubles
Del Campbell: Men's 70 doubles
Lyn McWilliams: Women's 35 doubles, Women's 50 doubles
Beverly Bowes-Hackney: Women's 40 doubles
Sandy Arico: Women's 60 doubles
Jorey Ereckson and Michelle King, Mixed 35 doubles
Dennis McWilliams, Mixed 55 doubles

Tournament Notes: It was windy all weekend long, which made it tough on everyone, and a couple of players really let the conditions affect them...The Men's 40's final between Eoin Collins and Warren Fulgenzi was extremely entertaining with Collins pulling it out in three sets...Congratulations to Joel Trammell for making the finals of both the Men's 40 and 45's doubles...Someone said there should be a "Chris Haggard Rule" if you have won a professional tournament in the past year then you can't beat up on regular seniors...Nice job by DeKruyff and Francis winning the consolation draw in the mixed 35, now maybe you guys can get busy and send me something....Question, how many Babolat Pure Drives did you see this weekend ? I lost count...The Westwood cheese burgers are pretty damn good, I have to admit...My favorite outfit had to be the "Swamp People" ensemble worn by a certain Fulbright and Jaworski lawyer in the Men's 45's dubs...I counted at least two former Davis Cup players out there, albeit none from the USA...Love it when I see a player wearing a watch on the court, the way Becker used to, usually those guys are timing themselves to see how fast they can kick your butt...Someone tell my kids I need a new camera for Father's Day, these pics are pretty weak...I'm always amazed when adults get away with racket abuse, verbal abuse, etc. that would get a kid in big trouble in a tournament, shouldn't we hold adults to the same standards that we hold juniors to ?

Westwood Updates

2011-05-29T21:41:00.007-05:00

Although several of the draws were completed today, many local players will be playing in finals on Monday including: Peter Markes (Men's 50 Singles, Noon), Del Campbell (Men's 70 singles, 9am), Julie Cass and Michele King (Women's 40 Singles, 9am), Rick and Adrian Garza (Father/Son Doubles, 9am), Chris Haggard/Darin Pleasant and Rick Garza/Joel Trammel (Men's 40 Doubles 11:30am), Stephen Creel/Joel Trammel (Men's 45 doubles 2pm), Jorey Ereckson/Michelle King and Julie Cass (MXD 35 doubles 11:30am). Click here to see all the draws.

Westwood Pictures Day 2

2011-05-28T17:23:00.007-05:00

(Top to bottom: Tim Klitch, Brian Lusson, Peter Markes, Michelle Ash, Elizabeth Davis)

It's heating up out there, here are some pictures from today's matches at Westwood. In the Men's 35's singles, local players Jason Wilkes and Jorey Ereckson have advanced to the semis, while Peter Markes and Kerry Minzenmayer have done the same in the Men's 50's draw. In the Men's 60's singles draw, Suheil Baaklini battled his way to the semis where he will face the top seed, Tommy Connell, while Circle C's Fernando Velasco took out the #2 seed in the 65's draw to make the semis. On the Women's side, Julie Cass and Michelle King have advanced to the semis of the Women's 40's singles draw, and Michelle Ash and Elizabeth Davis are in the last four in the 50's draw. There are several Austin doubles teams doing well, check out the draws here.

Westwood Pictures Day 1

2011-05-27T23:06:00.008-05:00

(Top to bottom: Ruth DeKruyff, Leonard Smith, Julian Lowin, Alan Williams, Jason Wilkes, Sharon McKinney)

Check out the latest results from Westwood, click here.