Hundreds of Texas Slam players, family, and more converged outside the Southwestern University tennis courts to enjoy fun, food, and music at the 2023 Texas Slam Player party presented by ICL Academy. Vendors included Uptown Tennis, Diadem, YourGameFace, and many more!
Thanks to everyone who came out and made the Player Party a blast.
Junior Sportsmanship Awards
Ten players in total walked away with hardware, as the USTA Section honored junior Texas tennis players for their tennis prowess, as well as their sportsmanship on and off the court. Awards are presented to outstanding juniors across four age brackets in both boys and girls divisions during the event’s player recognition party.
Gavin Golod of Austin received the Paul Christian Sportsmanship Award and McKenna Boyett of Austin received the Barbara Smith Sportsmanship Award. Each trophy is awarded to a 14-year-old boy and girl, respectively. Chosen by players in the tournament, both awards highlight players demonstrating outstanding sportsmanship and fair play.
San Angelo’s Rewk Nagel won the Ken McAllister Sportsmanship Award and Austin’s Stella Chambers took home the Emily Schaefer Sportsmanship Award. These awards each honor a 12-year-old boy and girl selected by the players at The Slam tournament.
Dillon Beckles of Round Rock received the Art Foust Sportsmanship Award while Kenna Erickson of Austin received the Maureen Connolly Brinker Award. These awards honor an 18-year-old boy and girl respectively for outstanding sportsmanship and fair play both on and off the court, with the final selection being made by the players at the tournament.
Emma Foster of San Antonio won the Zina Garrison Sportsmanship Award, and the Bob McKinley Sportsmanship Award was presented to Allan Xu of Katy. These are each given to a 16-year-old in the boys and girls divisions.
Katy’s Allan Xu also won the John McFarlin Outstanding Sportsmanship Award, presented to the outstanding junior boy in Texas for his exceptional performance, a willingness to work with up-and-coming players, cooperation and proper respect, and a sportsmanlike and competitive spirit. Laila Nguyen of Houston earned the Mary Lowdon Outstanding Sportsmanship Award, which honors an outstanding junior girl in Texas who has shown exceptional ability, a good ranking, a willingness to work with up-and-coming players, cooperation and proper respect, and a sportsmanlike and competitive spirit.
Finally, Lucas Brown of Plano, who is currently attending the University of Texas at Austin, earned the Chuck McKinley Outstanding Player Award, honoring a USTA Texas junior tennis player who achieved the most outstanding results at the National and/or International level, during the previous calendar year.
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