Aruba wins ITF championship

Team St Vincent and the Grenadines did their country proud in the just concluded International Tennis Federation (ITF) 14 and under Caribbean Development Championships, but team Aruba proved unbeatable.

The tournament, which was at times frustrated by rain, ran from August 13 to 18th at the National Tennis Centre, at Villa.{{more}}

St Vincent and the Grenadines had a solid showing, finishing third with 24 points.

However after the 234 matches played in both singles and doubles by the 13 participating countries, it was Aruba that blazed the trial with 47 points.



Netherlands Antilles with 28 points, finished second.

Aruba’s 13 year old pair of girls, Stephanie Marchena and Thessaly Zimmerman finished first and second respectively on the girl’s final placing, with Trinidadian Nicolette Leacock, rounding off the top three.

Vincentian pair Halima Michael and Daneya Charles worked hard and finished ninth and tenth respectively among the 19 girls that participated.

The Vincentian duo impressed by reaching the finals of the doubles competition, eventually losing to the Arubans.

The diminutive Justin Tjon of the Netherlands Antilles was the male champion with Aruba’s Ibian Hodgeson coming second, after pulling up with cramps in the finals.

Beaten semi finalist, St Vincent and the Grenadines’ Fabrice George placed third. Shane Latchman and Kevin Huggins also placed in the top 10 and the other Vincentian Darryl Macleish finished 15th in the 21 boys field.

The participating teams, in order of their final placing were: Aruba, Netherlands Antilles, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Suriname, Barbados, Bermuda, Guyana, US Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica and St Lucia.(KJ)