Tennis Kicks Off This Weekend

The Arlington Tennis Association Toys for Tennis Tournament will be held Saturday, December 1, at the Arlington Tennis Center in Arlington, Texas.

Also Saturday, the Dallas Professional Tennis Association Junior Circuit 4 Frisco High School Tournament will be held at the following locations: Collin County Community College, Frisco High School, Centennial High School and Liberty High School.

There is lots of tennis in Texas this Saturday: in Houston, New Braunfels and Austin.

Michael White Wins Arlington Mid Cities

Michael White of Runaway Bay, Texas, won the boy's 12-year-old division in the Arlington Tennis Center Mid Cities Junior Tournament. White defeated Arlington's Christian Carrillo, 8-6, in the final.

Arlington, Texas' Zachary McClendon, Parker Anderson, Jake Raymond, Vikram Patel and Jacob Bevins all lost in the earlier rounds. Mansfield's Kyle Moody and Grand Prairie's Miggy Fajardo also lost in the earlier rounds.

Kasilingam Wins Arlington Tournament

Preethi Kasilingam of Flower Mound, Texas, won the girl's 12 division of the Arlington Tennis Center Mid Cities Junior Tournament November 17.

Number one seed Kasilingam beat Julia Frandsen-Deloach of Cedar Hill, 8-4, in the final. Two players from Arlington -- Sydney Smith and Christina Pauley -- lost in the earlier rounds.

Arlington's Kristin Weems Wins Mid Cities

Kristin Weems of Arlington, Texas, won the Arlington Tennis Center Mid Cities Junior Tournament November 17. Weems defeated Samantha Garnett of Fort Worth, 8-1, in girls 14-year-old age group.

Earlier in the quarterfinals, Weems beat number one Sarah Wertenberger of Grapevine, 9-8 (3). Weems also knocked off third-seeded Haley Whatley of North Richland Hills, 8-1 in the semifinals.

Arlington's April Singleton made it as far as the semifinals.

Arlington's Murugan Wins Tournament

Santosh Murugan of Arlington won the Arlington Tennis Center Mid Cities Tournament November 17. Murugan won the boys 10-year-old round robin tournament against Ryan Hargrove of Southlake and Dylan Cauwels of Grapevine.

More Frequently-Asked Questions

The Tennis Hacker answers your frequently-asked questions: what do you look like? Show me a picture of yourself. Above, my nephew Stephen, left, and me. Please post your questions in comment section below article. I will answer them next time.

Arlington Mid Cities Tournament

The Arlington Tennis Center's Mid Cities Tournament was held November 17 in Arlington, Texas.

Champions

Boys

Vincent Powley, 18-year-old group

Ryan Baldwin, 16

Ford Thamsiriboon, 14

Michael White, 12

Santosh Murugan, 10

Girls

Olivia Teague, 18

Alexis Wotton, 16

Kristin Weems, 14

Preethi Kasilingam, 12

Katherine Knauf, 10

Katelyn Thomas, 8

Michael McClune Succumbs in Knoxville

Michael McClune, photo by Tessa Kolodny.

Michael McClune, winner of the Texas 76ers Pro Tennis Event, lost to Jesse Levine, 4-6, 1-6, in the $50,000 Knoxville Challenger. Jesse Levine is having a break-out year.

Ball, Rizza Wins in Hawaii

Photo, Carsten Ball, by Tessa Kolodny

Carsten Ball and Rylan Rizza -- two players you remember from last month's Mansfield, Texas, tournament -- won the doubles in the Oceanic Time Warner Cable Honolulu Futures.

Apparently, Michael McClune, the Mansfield champion, did not play.

The tournament was covered by The Honolulu Advertiser and the United States Tennis Association.

NikeFactoryStore Sale in Grapevine, Texas

NikeFactoryStore is holding a Thanksgiving sale of up to 60 per cent off on selected items.

The store is located at 3000 Grapevine Mills Parkway in Grapevine, Texas.

Brad Gilbert Tips

Hello, friend. I am jumping on a plane once again. Sadly, my father passed. I will be gone for a few days.

In the event that I do not have access to a computer, I have re-posted two stories -- I had taken the articles down because I was concentrating on local angles, but perhaps you might find them interesting. Let me know what you think about Brad Gilbert Tips and More Brad Gilbert Tips. Brad Gilbert is the former pro player who became even more famous as the coach of Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick.

Enjoy the rest of the week and the upcoming holiday. To receive my new stories and pictures by e-mail, just type your e-mail address in the subscribe box to the right. Your e-mail address would be handled in strict confidence; the free service is provided by Feedburner, a Google company.

New Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas

Arlington, Texas -- strategically located between Dallas and Fort Worth -- has become the entertainment destination in North Texas. The Dallas Cowboys have decided to make Arlington their new home and is building a new stadium.

Breakfast at Wimbledon

Wimbledon Oaks on Wimbledon Avenue in Arlington, Texas.Warm mixed berry at Barnes and Noble in Arlington, Texas.Wimbledon Courts.Wimbledon is all year long in Arlington, Texas.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures. I enjoyed the mixed berry pastry.

Martin High School Inter-Squad Tennis

Martin High School at 4501 W. Pleasant Ridge in Arlington, Texas, held an inter-squad competition Saturday, November 10. It continues Tuesday.

Juan. Juan has a deadly forehand.

Lan and Jason.

Lan and Jason.

Juan and Andy.

Coach Adam Alaniz reads the results of Martin High School inter-squad tennis tournament.

What is ZAT?

The tennis tournament scene is an alphabet soup of letters. These acronyms are never explained. It is presumed that you know them already. No explanation needed.

The ZAT was just held November 3-4 in Arlington, Texas. And that begs the question: what is ZAT?

The Tennis Hacker is here to decipher the alphabet soup that is junior tennis. The ZAT, the Zone Advancement Tournament, is part of a series of tournaments to help junior players achieve a Texas state ranking.

After playing a series of local tournaments, players may qualify to play in ZAT.

*Players who excel in ZAT, may qualify for the Championship Major Zone, and beyond that the Super Championship Major Zone.

*All this leads to the grand finale the Super Championship Grand Slam.

Hacker Figures Out How To Use Camera

I finally figured out how to use my camera and how to upload a picture to the computer. The above photo is of the plane in which I tempted fate and flew into a storm.

I was only able to get this one photo. I learned about something called a memory card: I have to buy a card that holds more memory and then I will be able to take more pictures.

A Visit to Lake Hubbard

Heath, Texas, is the hometown of Darby Strictland, the Girls 12-year-old White Division champion of the Arlington Tennis Association Zone Advancement Tournament (ZAT). Heath is a town on Lake Hubbard, nestled between Garland, Rockwall, Mesquite and Terrell.

The other Girls 12 champion (Red) was Kelsey Kaiser of McKinney. The Boys 12 winners were Karan Bindra of Richardson and Alex Fritchie of Frisco.

The ZAT was held November 3-4 at Arlington Tennis Association and University of Texas at Arlington.

Wedgeworth, Woodcock, Tennis Champs

Evan Wedgeworth of Flint, Texas, won the Boys 16 White division and Braden Woodcock of Keller is the Boys 16 Red champion in the Arlington Tennis Association's Zone Advancement Tournament (ZAT) held November 3-4.

Wedgeworth defeated Dallas' Alex Crane 6-1, 6-3.

Woodcock beat Simon Le of Allen 6-4, 6-3.

Weatherford's Gremminger is ZAT Champ

Lauren Gremminger of Weatherford High School won in the 18-year-old group of the Arlington Tennis Association's Zone Advancement Tournament (ZAT) November 3-4. Gremminger, ranked number two, defeated Christa Watson of Midlothian, Texas, 5-7, 6-0, 1-0 (1) in the final.



Watson had beat top-ranked Lisa Castillo of Grand Prairie earlier in the tournament. On her way to the final, Gremminger got by Hillary Parras of Mansfield and Taylor Banks of Mesquite.

Hacker's Readers Passionate, Affluent, According to USTA advertising report

The United States Tennis Association thinks it knows you. You are college-educated. You are between the ages of 18 and 49. You are passionate, loyal and affluent. You shop actively online. And, if you have ever attended the U.S. Open, you make $156,935.

That is what the USTA tells advertisers who are trying to reach you.

Donovan Boyce Wins Boys 10 Singles, Kathryn Rogers Wins Girls 10 Final

The Arlington Tennis Association's Zone Advancement Tournament (ZAT) is going on through November 4 at the Arlington Tennis Center and the University of Texas at Arlington. Players who do well here can achieve a Texas state ranking.

Donovan Boyce of Cedar Hill, Texas, defeated number one Clark Shannon of Frisco, 8-3, to win the Boys 10 championship.

Karthryn Rogers of Austin beat Taylor Gray of Wichita 8-0 in the girls 10 finals.

Below is results from Boys 14 Singles Red. Please scroll down to find the name of your son or neighbor. Complete results at ATA United States Tennis Association link.

Boys 14 Singles Red

Travis Diamond d Omar Jaramillo 6-0, 6-1 Wd (ill)

(6) Samuel Zeller d Jeremy Tsui 6-0, 6-2

(3) Reid Lewis d Jonah Soble 9-7, 6-3

Jake Matricardi d Trevor Brook 6-0, 6-2

(5) Parker Kim d. Griffin Shelnutt 6-0, 6-4

(4) Trygve Neufang d Benjamin Talley 2-6, 7-6, 1-0

(8) David Wang d Ryan Nolan 6-0, 6-1

(1) Joseph Wei d David Caero 2-6, 6-3, 1-0

Round of 32

Travis Diamond d (2) Christopher Hoffman 6-4, 6-4

Omar Jaramillo d Zack Santagate Wd (ill)

(6) Samuel Zeller d Jonathan Manlapaz 6-4, 6-2

Jeremy Tsui d Carlos Rodriguez 6-2, 6-2

(3) Reid Lewis d Alex Chiu 6-2, 6-0

Jonah Soble d Jeffrey Doucette Wd (tae)

Jake Matricardi d (7) Matthew Wakefield 6-0, 6-4

Trevor Brook d Alex Tiegs 6-0, 6-1

Griffin Shelnutt d Luke Bunnett 6-0, 6-0

(5) Parker Kim d Zachary Nail 6-4, 6-1

Benjamin Talley d Kevin Cobb 4-6; 6-3; 1-0(3)

(4) Trygve Neufang d Zachary Poulsen 6-2, 6-1

Ryan Nolan d Dax Collison 1-6, 6-4, 1-0(8)

(8) David Wang d Adam Dodson 1-6; 6-2; 1-0(7)

David Caero d Jonathan Deleon 6-2, 6-7, 1-0(10)

(1) Joseph Wei d David Ralph 6-0, 6-1

Consolation

Round 2

Omar Jaramillo d (2) Christopher Hoffman Wo (inj)

Jonah Soble d Alex Chiu Def (ns)

Round 1

(2) Christopher Hoffman d Zack Santagate Wo (inj)

Jonathan Manlapaz d Carlos Rodriguez 9-7, 6-2

Alex Chiu d Jeffrey Doucette Wd (tae)

(7) Matthew Wakefield d Alex Tiegs 6-0, 6-0

Zachary Nail d Luke Bunnett 6-0, 6-0

Kevin Cobb d Zachary Poulsen 6-2, 6-2

Adam Dodson d Dax Collison 6-3, 6-0

Jonathan Deleon d David Ralph 6-2, 7-6, 1-0

The Tennis Hacker Visits His Father

In case you wondered who was the ailing relative I went to visit recently: I went to visit my father.

I found him in long stages of semi-consciousness and disorientation. The first day was overwhelming. I laid next to him and cried.

The long stages of semi-conscousness and disorientation were interspersed with brief moments of recognition and conversation. I was thankful for one brief moment: he called out my name and gave a laugh and a smile as if surprised and happy to see me.

Hacker Challenges Tropical Storm Noel

Sorry, I have not talked to you in a few days. I was unable to get to a computer so I wrote a few notes of the beginning of my trip.

Enjoy.

***

The Tennis Hacker Challenges Tropical Storm Noel

Dateline: Somewhere between Florida and The Bahamas

It pays to watch the news. The news can warn you of impending danger -- like a tropical storm.

I arrived at a Florida airport, only to be told that my connecting flight to The Bahamas was cancelled. I thought it odd, but did not even bother to ask the reason for the cancellation. I walked around slightly confused, but not totally disappointed because Florida has some culinary delights: Haitian food and Cuban sandwiches.

Then a newspaper headline caught my eye: 'Storm Kills 20 in Caribbean'. Totally oblivious, I was headed into the eye of a tropical storm.

There was excitement in another terminal. With all the major flights cancelled, an enterprising pilot saw an opportunity and was signing up brave souls to make the trip -- in a two-prop plane!

There is a saying: 'Never jump out of a perfectly working airplane.' I hereby amend that saying: 'Never jump in an airplane -- perfectly working or otherwise -- never jump in an airplane that is headed into a tropical storm.'

Wish me luck, my friend.