Six Under-12 tennis players got their ‘baptism’ in national representation for St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), when they competed at the Central American and Caribbean Tennis Confederation (COTECC) Sub Region-4 Team Competition in Trinidad and Tobago.
The competition ran from Sunday, August 16 to Thursday 20, at the National Racquet Sports Centre, The male team comprising Zion Byfield-Grant, Keyondré Gaymes and Nathaniel Sheen finished eighth among nine competing countries, whilst the female outfit of Amaia Waterstone, Nakayda Cain and Amina Lucas, ended seventh.
The trio of males had an overall record of two ties won, and three ties lost, and the females finished with a tie won, and four ties lost.
St Vincent and the Grenadines’ wins came versus Guyana as Sheen beat Liam Felix 6-1, 3-0; while Byfield-Grant defeated Yoshua Mangru 6-4, 6-2.
The combination of Byfield-Grant and Gaymes saw off Yoshua Mangru/Liam Felix by a walkover.
This event is open to all nineteen members of the COTECC Sub Region-4 (SR4), which mainly comprises the nations of the Lesser Antilles.
In the male segment, apart from St Vincent and the Grenadines, the other participating countries were Aruba, Barbados, Curaçao, Grenada, Guyana, St. Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, as well and Trinidad and Tobago, who featured two teams.
Meanwhile, in the female section, Barbados and Curaçao did not field teams.
According to a release from the St Vincent and the Grenadines Tennis Association, “Despite the results, the SVGTA is proud of our juniors’ showing at this tournament, and thanks them for representing St Vincent & the Grenadines. This outing marked all players’ debut representing a national team, and is even the first time that some have left our shores. Opportunities like this are crucial for player development both on and off the court”.
It added that “The many fruitful experiences had, and lessons learned will continue to add to their foundation, and the SVGTA is confident in each player’s commitment to improving”.
Support for the St Vincent and the Grenadines team’s travel came from the Mustique SVG Tennis Development Fund, and the SVG Olympic Committee.
Accompanying the Vincentian team were Sebastian Cyrus and Roxanne Williams, as male and female captain/ coach, respectively.
