The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

KEVIN Major Jr had to dig down deep to hold off a resilient Shaquille ‘Shaq’ Taylor to win the boys 18-and-under singles title to wrap up an historic week for the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association as the Bahamians dominated just about every category at the International Tennis Federation’s fourth annual Goombay Splash Bowl.

On Saturday at the National Tennis Center, the No.6 seeded Major Jr prevailed with a 6-2, 7-5 win over unseeded Taylor in the first all-Bahamian final. The victory came one day after Major Jr teamed up with Philip Major Jr to capture the 18s doubles title with an identical 6-3, 6-3 decision over the No.2 seeded team of Juan Alanis and Cardenas Penchyna from Mexico on Friday.

“It was a very good match. I knew it was going to be tough because he’s a good player,” said Major Jr of his opponent. “I think with this being my first ITF final and playing at home, the pressure got to me in the second set when I had two bad games and he was able to tie the score at 5-5.

“But I managed to settle back down and got to win the next two games to pull off the match. I was so glad that I was able to do it because it was in front of the home crowd. There’s no better feeling than what I experienced when I won the title.”

Although he lost, Taylor said he couldn’t be more happy with his performance.

“I went out there and I played as hard as I could,” he said. “It was a good match. We know each other from having played together so many times, so I think it didn’t make a difference when we played this time. He just played a little bit better and was able to win this one.”

Major Jr, a 17-year-old who attends a tennis academy in Boynton Beach, Florida, said he went out and played as well as he could. He advanced to the final with a 6-1, 7-6 (3) win over American southpaw No.8 seed Josh Silverstein on Friday. Taylor, on the other hand, pulled off his second victory over No.3 seed Yannick James from Grenada in four years - their first appearance in the 14s singles at this same tournament.

Major Jr noted that the victory was just as sweet as the doubles title that he and Philip Major Jr achieved on Friday when they were crowned the champions.

“Doubles is always fun,” Major Jr said. “We played very well together. In the first two matches, we lost the first set, only to come back and win in the third set. In the last two matches in the semifinal and final, we played much better as we didn’t drop a set. I am so happy that we won that too.”

Major and Major Jr got into the final with a 6-1, 7-5 win over Jose Gil and Julian Saborio from Costa Rica. Both teams were unseeded. Alanis and Penchyna won their semifinal match 5-7, 6-3, 10-7 over No.4 seeds Bahamian Justin Higgs and Yannil James of Grenada.

In the girls’ 18s singles, top seed Cassandra Vazquez won 7-5, 6-4 over American No.2 seed Rianna Valdes to take the title back to Mexico. In her semifinal match on Friday, Vazquez prevailed with a 6-1, 6-2 decision over unseeded Nicole Coopersmith of the US. Valdes won her semis 6-0, 6-4 over American No.4 seed Ines Vias.

In doubles play, top seeds Helen Altick and Rianna Valdes from the US won 6-0, 6-3 over the unseeded team of Adi Milstein from the USA and Cassandra Vazquez from Mexico. Altick and Valdes beat unseeded Kaile Finies and Polina Kiseleva 6-0, 6-0 in their semifinal and Milstein and Vazquez knocked off Nicole Coopersmith and Taylot Shukow 6-2, 7-6 (3).

The tournament also featured the 14-and-under division with top seed Iesha Shepherd pulling off an all-Bahamian final in the girls singles with her 6-0, 6-2 win over No.2 seed Sydney Clarke. Shepherd eliminated Valeria Humpierres from Venezuela 6-3, 6-4 in her semifinal match and Clarke took care of Bahamian Jade Bastian 6-2, 6-4.

Top seeds Valeria Humpierres and Sydney Clarke clinched the doubles title with a hard fought 5-7, 6-2, 10-8 decision over No.2 seeds Iesha Sheperd and Candace Mortier. Humpierres and Clarke won their semifinal match 6-2, 6-2 over Mandisa Walle and Savannah Roberts, while Sheperd and Mortier got by Carissa Rodulfo and Sydni Kerr 6-1, 6-2.

In the boys’ singles final, top seed Dimitri Bird from Jamaica won 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 over No.2 seed Nabeel Mohammed from Trinidad & Tobago. Bird won 6-1, 6-0 over American Peter Anderson in their semifinal match and Mohammed got by Bahamian Joshua Turnquest 6-4, 6-2.

Nabeel Mohammed and Dimitri Bird, the top seeds, won the doubles title with a 6-4, 6-3 win over the No.2 team Bahamian team of Oneal Mortimer and Joshua Turnquest. Mohammed and Bird won their semifinal match 6-2, 6-1 over Nagid Walle and Peter Anderson. Mortimer and Turnquest won 6-1, 6-4 over Bradley Fowler and Brandon Taylor.

BLTA president Derron Donaldson said they were really pleased with the performances of the players at the tournament, especially the Bahamians. He noted that the local players made their presence felt in all of the categories and were even successful in winning a couple of titles.

“This is the best performance we’ve had at this level in this tournament,” Donaldson said. “This only shows that our junior programme is really on the move. We’ve had a number of players who would have done well in other ITF junior tournaments in the Caribbean. But this is the first time that we have had Bahamians winning in the 18s in this tournament. We also got some good performances from those in the 14s.”

Donaldson said the focus now switches to the Giorgio Baldacci’s Battle of the Elite Players Open National Challenge that is scheduled for December 15-22 at the NTC.

“We are inviting all those players who are 14 and over to come out and participate,” Donaldson said. “There won’t be any 14-and-under tournament, so we want those players who feel they have the ability to play with the senior players to come out and participate.

“We feel that this tournament will be an exciting one because the juniors are playing very well right now and we would really like to see how they play against the senior players. This is normally a tournament for the seniors, but we are inviting the juniors to come out. All of the top senior players who are in the United States are expected to be here to compete.”

The entry deadline is 6pm Friday, December 14.