News

11/05 - Saturday Session with Ken - “Academy Boys Rock the House”

Glenbrook North High School Varsity standout and Academy veteran, Aaron Noparstak, also assisted in the doubles portion of the drill.   “It was one of the best sessions so far this season”, reported Ken.    Attendees included Drew Campbell, Tom Fawcett, Ryan Kennedy, David Korobov, Michael Korobov, and Alex Mang.

10/23   CDTA announces changes to 2007 Qualifier Selection Process
The Chicago District Tennis Association has made a major change to its player selection process for the 2007 District Championships (aka ‘the Qualifier’)  In the past, many age groups had pre-qualifiers and/or draws of 128.  Starting with 2007, the draws will be limited to 64 and there will be no pre-qualifier for any age group.  The selection process will be based on the most current National and Midwest Section PPR list.  For more information, please contact Julie Campbell, Tournament  Services Coordinator at Julie@HerrmannTennisAcademy.com   (two r’s and two n’s in Herrmann!)

10/18   HTA makes it mark at Aurora Boys Challenger

Herrmann Tennis Academy coaching staff, Robby Budacsek, Ollie Townsend and owner, Ken Herrmann, led seven participants at the Aurora Boys Challenger, a Level 4 Sectional and Level 5 National tournament, held October 7-9.  “I had not been to this event in the last couple of years, and forgot how strong the field can be.  All of the players from the Academy team won matches.  I was particularly impressed with Luke Gensburg and William Mirkin.” Commented academy owner, Ken Herrmann.”

Two of the top finishers from the Academy were Richard Brej and Kenta Shimizu, both in the Boys 14s.   The unseed Brej, ultimately fell to the #1 seed in the B14s Finals.  “Richard is a very strong player, the Herrmann Academy's top 14's player. He has come a long way improving his mental game and his strategic skills in Aurora B14's beating a line of top seeded players. He has shown an all-court game with strong positive attitude and body language. Congrats for reaching the finals! Keep up the good work... you are on the right track there is a lot of hard work to come!”, says Personal Coach, Rob Budacsek

Kenta Shimizu won the Boys 14s Consolation Finals.  “After breezing through the first round without dropping a game, the second match of the day was a bit too much to overcome.  Kenta pulled himself together and relied on his power game to finish off the backdraw without losing a set,” said Personal Coach, Ollie Townsend.

Other Academy players who qualified for the very competitive 64 draw event include: Konrad Kamizelich, Alex Zazove, Calvin Mang and William Mirkin.

10/08  Congratulations to all participants in the GLENBROOK/HERRMANN TENNIS ACADEMY FALL BOYS CHAMPIONSHIPS
The annual Fall Boys Championship was held at Glenbrook Racquet Club on September 29-October 1.  Participation was strong in all three age groups (B12, B16, B18).  Winners for each event were: Tate Allwardt (B12), James Li (B16) and  HTA student, Michael Moore (B18).  Sportsmanship Award went to Tom Fawcett.  The Academy had over 20 players participate in all three age groups.  Academy owner, Ken Herrmann said, “Congratulations to Mike Moore for winning at his ‘home’ club.  Its always great to win an event.  This certainly is a nice way for him to start off his fall tournament schedule.”

 09/23 - Top Ranked Chicago Junior – Eric Spector – impressed with HTA students……

On Saturday, 9/23, Academy owner, Ken Herrmann, held another private session pitting four of the Academy’s most promising younger players against top-ranked juniors Eric Spector and Robert Foley.

“Tyler Manci, Calvin Mang, Mike Levin and Michael Korobov had a great opportunity to match their strengths against two of Chicago’s best players” notes Ken.  “It was interesting to see the younger players make adjustments with their games against the heavier ball of Eric and Robert.”

“I was really pleased with how competitive all the players were, and special thanks to Eric and Robert for giving back to the Academy.”

09/10 - Saturdays with Ken Debuts with top junior Zazove

Ken debuted his 'by invitation only' hitting sessions this past weekend on September 9th. Two of the Academy's most promising 14-year old juniors, Andrew Miron and Brantner Jones, attended a one and one half hour practice with 18-year old Academy star, Alex Zazove. "I was really impressed with how well Brantner and Andrew handled the pace from Alex. This was a terrific opportunity for them both. Alex is one of the most well-rounded players in our program," said Ken.

08/30 - Herrmann Academy was well represented on the courts this summer!
 

Top Boys 16's player, Jonathan Schroeder, reached the Finals of the back draw at the Boys 16’s Midwest Closed this summer, convincingly beating the #1 seed (Top 50 Nationally) with a score of  6-0, 6-4 and has made it to the Super National Hard Courts in Kalamazoo for the Boys 16's.  Personal coach Rob Budacsek notes "Great run for Schrody! He really showed that he is ready to transition into the Boys 18's game. He will be a top player in the US. This coming year will be the key to step up and work harder. He's got it!"

Top 18's player Konrad Kamizelich reached the Finals of the back draw at the Boys 18’s Midwest Open this summer, beating a series of highly ranked players in the US while battling the scorching 100 degree weather. He is one of the top players at the Academy. "Korado! is the fastest player I have ever worked with!  He is the hardest worker out there with the biggest heart for the game. Watching him fight is inspiring. He has got one more year to work hard and he'll be a dominant Division I player in the NCAA" says personal coach, Rob Budacsek.
 

08/15 - HTA Players represent the Academy at the 2006 National Championships!

Herrmann Tennis Academy players who qualified and participated in the National Clay Court or National Hard Court Championships this summer include: Kelly Poggensee-Wei (G14), Riko Shimizo (G14), Julia Fellerhoff (G14), Hanna Yu (G14), Lynne Poggensee-Wei (G18), Sam Galaneina (G18),  Drew Campbell (B12), Andrew Miron (B14), Luke Gensburg (B14), Richard Brej (B14), Kenta Shimuzu (B14),  Brantner Jones (B14), Tyler Manci (B14), Jonathan Schroeder (B16).

07/30 – Academy Alums Hits the Pro Circuit

Herrmann Tennis Academy alums, Preston and Heller,  participated in this summer’s USTA Pro Circuit $50,000 Men’s Challenger tournament held in Winnetka, IL July 3-10.

Ryan Preston, a top graduate of the Herrmann Tennis Academy, currently a junior playing #1 for Vanderbilt University, represented the academy proudly after receiving a wild card to the main draw of the Winnetka Challenger this summer. He also passed the first round in qualifying of the RCA Championships in Indianapolis.  Currently ranked #44 in the Division I NCAA ranking, #1452 in the Men's ATP singles ranking, and #1705 in doubles, Ryan is the first boy growing out of the Herrmann Tennis Academy to have a world ranking in both singles and doubles.  Personal coach Rob Budacsek says “Presto has showed world class promise since he was a kid. I believed in his tennis more then he did at times. I had no doubt that he’d reach international success starting sophomore year in college. This is just the beginning!  Watch for this player!"  

Ryan Heller, a top graduate of the Herrmann Tennis Academy, currently a senior playing #2 for University of Michigan, also made it to the qualifying of the Winnetka Challenger and showed his phenomenal talent in the first round. In the 2005 Top Gun Tournament, Ryan came close to beating Nathan Healey of Australia who is ranked #245 ATP. Healey made the 3rd round of the Australian Open a month later. This shows Ryan can play the big boys head to head. Coach Rob Budacsek "Hellertime has always hit the ball in a world class way. He has gotten stronger and he plays like a pro. He'll have a great season."

07/18 - WELCOME BACK, PAUL WEI!
The Academy is pleased to announce the return of top junior tennis coach, Paul Wei.  After many years with the Academy, Paul sustained an injury to his foot that kept him off the court for over one year.  With intensive physical therapy, Paul has been given the ok to resume his coaching duties this September.  Paul, a top-ranked junior and collegiate player himself, is the father to nationally-ranked Academy players, Lynne and Kelly.  Welcome back, Paul!  “Paul was the coach who first got me interested and prepared to play in challenger tournaments!” noted Drew Campbell, HTA student since 2004.

07/03 – HTA OVERNIGHT SUMMER CAMP AT KALAMAZOO, MI
(At Western Michigan University - Home of the Boys’ 16 & 18 USTA National Championship)
2006 saw the overnight summer camp expand both in size and facility.  The third year of our camp had our host facility switch from Kalamazoo College to Western Michigan University.  “Western Michigan has an overall larger facility and was able to accommodate the growth of our camp” says Academy Owner, Ken Herrmann. “the night time activities offered on campus made for a full day of tennis and nighttime fun.”  Chuck Bison served as Director of the Camp this year and had a clear vision of how he and the coaching staff wanted the camp to run.  Campers typically played six hours each day, followed by fitness, an evening activity (from swimming, to go-karting, to rock climbing).  The summer camp expanded not only to a larger facility, but added a third week due to increased demand from prior years campers.  For our fourth year (2007), the camp will run for 4 weeks.  Registration and information will be posted on the website this fall.


06/28 -HTA HAS 30 PLAYERS COMPETING IN THIS YEAR’S MIDWEST CLOSED CHAMPIONSHIP
The Academy sent it’s coaching staff to both Lansing, Michigan and Indianapolis, Indiana for this year’s 2006 Midwest Closed Championships.  Academy Co-Directors Ernie Katko (Lansing) and Rob Budacsek (Indianapolis) headed up our squads which competed against the best junior players in this regional national qualifier tournament.  Several players from the Academy received endorsements for The National Champtionship later this August.  Boys 16 superstar, Jonathan Schroeder had a terrific tournament, winning six matches, including an UPSET victory over the tournament’s #1 seed, and reaching the Consolation Semi-Finals.   “This was some of the best tennis I have seen Jonathan play.  I am really excited about how is game is sharpening,” says Academy Co-Director, Rob Budacsek.  Junior players competing in this year’s Closed that trained with Hermann Tennis Academy this past season include:
Lynne Poggensee-Wei, Samantha Galainena, Konrad Kamizelich, Alex Zazove, Michael Moore, Jonathan Schroeder, Jonah Schwartz, Julia Fellerhoff, Kelly Poggensee-Wei, Hanna Yu, Annie Sullivan, Katie Zordani, Lindsay Fox, Taylor Hampshire,  Richard Brej, Joe Collins, Tyler Manci, Kenta Shimizu, Brantner Jones, Andrew Miron, Luke Gensburg,  Riko Shimizu, Audrey O’Connor, Haley O’Connor, Lauren Burich, Drew Campbell, Alex Mang, Konrad Ryba, David Myers, John Zordani

Congratulations to all for your achievements!  Thanks for representing the program so well.

 06/24 - MILWAUKEE/HTA MIDWEST CLOSED MINI-CAMP A SUCCESS!
This year Herrmann Tennis Academy invited one of the top junior programs from Milwaukee to train on our courts with us for some great match play prior to this year’s Midwest Closed Championship.  The Milwaukee team brought twenty players down for the week and the kids got to enjoy playing with each other.  “We had a similar Bi-City Mini-Camp last December over a long weekend, and knew it would be the best preparation for our players to hit against different competitors,” says Academy Co-Director, Ernie Katko.  We hope to have the same format next year.”

06/21 - 2006 JUNIOR WIGHTMAN CUP
Academy coaching staff of Ken Herrmann and Ernie Katko had a triumphant run with this year’s Girls’ CDTA Wightman Cup Team, finishing 2nd to Ohio Valley.  The four day event was held June 16-19 at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.  All 16 districts from the USTA Midwest Section competed, and this is the fourth year that Ken and Ernie have coached the team to the Finals.  “Our girls lost a tough 4-3 battle to Ohio Valley in the Finals,” noted Head Coach, Ernie Katko.  “Herrmann Tennis Academy player, Sam Galainena, a three time Wightman Cup team member, had a big impact with the team.

Glenbrook Racquet Club, home of Herrmann Tennis Academy, has passed the torch for hosting the upcoming 2006-2007 Girls’ Super Excellence Program, and therefore will pass on the Wightman Cup coaching responsibilities, as well.  In the four years that the Academy has coached the program, the girls’ team has made it to the finals each time, winning the Championship in 2004.

(insert team photo)

Caption:  Coaches Ernie Katko & Ken Herrmann with the 2006 Girls Chicago Junior Wightman Cup team.  Third year veteran, and Herrmann Tennis Academy player, Sam Galainena pictured in back row, fourth from the left.

06/20 - HTA SENDS 57 PLAYERS TO THE 2006 CDTA QUALIFER CHAMPIONSHIPS
Congratulations to everyone that competed so hard and to those that were endorsed to this year’s Midwest Closed Championship.  We sure are proud of our players!  Academy players competing in this year’s Qualifier that have been training with us this past season include:  Lynne Poggensee-Wei, Samantha Galainena, Brigit Larson, Sammy Levin, Konrad Kamizelich, Alex Zazove, Felix Birman, Michael Moore, Abbey Perl, Rachel Welch, Ashley Breitenbach, Nora Montgomery, Allison Zimmerman, Sima Kovalevskaya, Jonathan Schroeder, Jonah Schwartz, Kevin Prescott, Marcus Ampon, Danny Hurley, Matt Hurley, Jooho Yu, Julia Fellerhoff, Kelly Poggensee-Wei, Hanna Yu, Annie Sullivan, Katie Zordani, Lindsay Fox, Taylor Hampshire,  Richard Brej, Joe Collins, Tyler Manci, Kenta Shimizu, Brantner Jones, Andrew Miron, Luke Gensburg, Michael Levin, Calvin Mang, Danny Michaels,  Riko Shimizu, Audrey O’Connor, Haley O’Connor, Lauren Burich, Audrey Mang, Victoria Olejniczak, Devon Hubbard, Molly Montgomery, Drew Campbell, Alex Mang, Konrad Ryba, David Myers, John Zordani, Tom Fawcett, Arthur Ozga, Tommy Nathan, Christopher Yih, Michael Sellitto and Charlie Morris.