Exciting finish to junior tennisYoungsters make use of chance to shine The Trustco Junior Masters tennis championships brought an end to this year''s competition for teenagers. 0 The highlight of the junior tennis tournament calendar, the Trustco Junior Masters tennis championship, was held on Friday and Saturday at various tennis courts in Windhoek. Qualified for the tournament were the best eight male and female players in the age groups under-10 to under-18 who had garnered most points participating in the ten official junior tournaments of the 2016 tennis season.
A total of 62 players competed for the championship trophy.
While the majority of players are Windhoek based, junior talents from Swakopmund, Outjo, Walvis Bay and Tsumeb also had qualified for the master''s championship.
The games began on a high note as many of the players were eager to claim their stake as the champion of their age group.
Matches were played in a round robin format.
On Friday rain showers delayed some of the matches.
This however did not discourage the players as some decided to play off into the night with the last match on that day ending at 21:00.
One of upsets of the tournament was in the U-10 girls'' category, which was dominated by Zoe Bronkhorst.
She succeeded in winning all her matches despite playing against higher ranked players.
The runner-up was Dominique Theron.
FNB Development player Johannes Swartz was in top form in the U-12 boys'' category and made it all the way to the finals were he had to face fellow FNB development player Albertus Brinkmann.
In a long but entertaining match, Swartz won 6-2, 6-2.
“Today I was focused and motivated playing my best,” a jubilant Johannes Swarts commented his championship final.
In the U-12 girls'' section Hendrina Appolus dominated her age group and out-played her opponent Elze Steers 6-0, 6-3.
The U-18 boys'' final had Dantago Gawanab going up against Ronaldo Uirab.
The match kept everyone on the edges of their seats as both players displayed exceptional tennis skills.
Gawanab beat his opponent 6-1, 6-2.
At the prize-giving ceremony NTA vice president Clive Gawanab said he was happy with the performance of all the players.
He thanked all the parents for their input and stressed that without them, there would be no players.
He also thanked Kallie Heese and his team for a well-organised event and encouraged them to keep up the good work.
Most of all he thanked Trustco for their continued support to the tennis fraternity.
A Trustco representative, Neville Basson, also thanked the players for their quality matches and encouraged them to continue doing their best and pushing their limits.
It was announced that Namibia will host next year''s Southern Africa Championships tournament, with 12 countries anticipated to take part in the U-14 and U-16 age groups.
Results:
Under-10 girls
Winner: Bronkhorst Zoe
Runner-up: Theron Dominic
Under-10 boys
Winner: Diggle Adam
Runner-up: Leicher Oliver
Under-12 girls
Winner: Apollus Hendrina
Runner-up: Stears Elze
Under-12 boys
Winner: Swartz Johannes
Runner-up: Brinkmann Albertus
Under-14 girls
Winner: Yssel Lisa
Runner-up: Lombardt Megan
Under-14 boys
Winner: Steenkamp Maans
Runner-up: De Jongh Diken
Under-16 girls
Winner: Bastiaans Emma
Runner-up: Steenkamp Agnes
Under-16 boys
Winner: Shikongo Risto
Runner-up: Barnard Gerhard
Under-18 girls
Runner-up: Kavarure Bronwyn
Winner: Riedel Jessica
Under-18 boys
Winner: Gawanab Dantago
Runner-up: Uirab Ronaldo
CHARMAINE RANDEN