It was another successful showing by the John Newcombe Tennis Academy students at the Texas Summer Grand Slam in College Station.  The USTA Texas summer sectional, which is annually one of the largest tournaments in the nation, features the top Super Championship level players in the state.  Newks was well represented by academy students, players, and coaches, taking home a number of trophies and awards.

Victoria Yu took fourth place in the Girls 12s singles draw.  A ninth seed, Victoria had a great week, not dropping a set until the semifinals.  We are looking for great things from Victoria in the future, as she continues to produce stronger and stronger results with every tournament. 

Team-Family-Team! – Jason Potthoff

Teal Vosburgh upheld her spot as the number one seed by taking home the championship trophy in the Girls 16s.  Teal, who was battling through a minor injury sustained the week before the tournament, played three three-set matches, showing her toughness and determination by dominating the final set in each of them.  As a result of her championship performance at the Grand Slam, Teal is now ranked #2 in Texas in the Girls 16s.

Tanner Brown dropped only 21 games and not a single set in the entire tournament en route to the Boys 16s championship.  The Grand Slam title caps off a year that saw Tanner make a ton of improvements to his game, and he now finds himself as the #1 ranked player in the Texas Section Boys 16s.

Newks Academy students Tyler Brown and Bryan Welnetz closed out their Texas Section junior careers by facing each other in the back draw final of the Boys 18s singles.  Welnetz, who will join the men’s team at Penn State in the fall, took 5th place with a victory in the last in a series of tough matches between the two players.  Brown earned a 6th place finish, and will now move on from a successful junior career to join the college ranks with the UT-San Antonio team in the fall.

Samantha Adams teamed with Blair Shankle of Comfort to capture the Girls 18s doubles championship.  The Adams-Shankle tandem continued their domination of the Texas Section doubles tournaments this year, beating a number of great teams in the Grand Slam, including Samantha’s sister and University of Incarnate Word signee Alex Adams and fellow Academy teammate Lilly Kimbell in the semifinals.

Kimbell also had a great week beyond the semifinal showing in the doubles.  Lilly won the Girls 18s title in routine fashion, dropping only one set during the tournament.  Now ranked among the top 10 girls in the United States, Lilly also took home a number of awards from the USTA Texas Section during the banquet on the second night of the tournament.  Kimbell was the recipient of the Chuck McKinley Award, given to the highest nationally ranked player from the Texas Section for the previous calendar year.  Lilly also won the Mary Lowdon Award, given to the Girls 18s player who most strongly exhibits the qualities of sportsmanship, citizenship, commitment, and athletic accomplishment.