By Tamarah Strauss, special to USTA.com
Representing the USTA Southern section, the Georgia Terminetters came to the Junior Team Tennis National Championships in Cayce, S.C., with much athletic ability, team spirit and experience. With two of the top-ranked players in all of the Southern section on the squad, it came as no surprise the team came away with the 14U Advanced National Championship title.
The team features Keshav Chopra, Kaanu Patel, Joshua Raab, Joseph Tanjuatco, Jenna Tulenko, Lindsay Tulenko, Bella Tummillo, Alonna Wood and Justin Waldman. The team is coached by Erman Tanjuatco.
The Terminetters team beat the Island Grinders, an Eastern team in the final, 40-29, after defeating TbarM Dream Crushers, a club out of the Texas section, in the semifinals, 48-30.
“I couldn’t be more proud of these kids. I’ve known a lot of them since they were 9 years old and to see them develop and progress throughout the years is really wonderful,” said Jason Fleeman, coach of the Georgia Terminetters. “JTT is an amazing experience because the kids get to be friends first and in a team atmosphere and rather than competing against each other they are competing with each other.”
Fourteen-year-old Terminetter teammates Kaanu Patel and Joseph Tanjuatco first met when they were 10 at a tennis tournament in Georgia. Four years later they call themselves best friends. Throughout the last few years, the two continued to see each other at various tournaments throughout Georgia, and they have even played doubles together.
When away from the court, keeping in touch was the easy part.
“We text and call each other all the time,” said Tanjuatco. “Our personalities are very open and we are very similar, so we instantly clicked and as we continued to get older and play at tournaments we would always see each other and catch-up.”
At their first Junior Team Tennis National Championships, Patel and Tanjuatco were pretty pumped all weekend to be in Cayce, so coming away with the win was the icing on the cake. Tanjuatco said he enjoyed having teammates supporting him and in return he supports his teammates, while Patel’s favorite part about JTT is playing doubles with a friend.
For Terminetter player, Joshua Rabb, who is ranked second in the USTA’s Southern section, he had quite an experience in Cayce with the team.
“It’s been a great opportunity to come out and compete at our highest level,” he said. “The best part is that it’s a team event and all your teammates cheer you on.”
The Terminetters look forward to their continued success with JTT and hope to make it back to next year’s championships.