The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

PHILIP Major Jr was determined to join Iesha Shepherd, Danny Wallace and Erin Strachan as top ranked players in their respective divisions of the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association's Junior Invitational.

In the last of the four singles final played on Friday at the National Tennis Center, Major Jr disposed of Grand Bahamian Rasheed Carey 6-4, 6-2 in the boys' 16 to keep all of the top rankings in New Providence.

Major Jr, a 10th grader at Aquinas College, joined Strachan, the top ranked in the girls' 16s and both Shepherd and Wallace, the top ranked in the girls and boys 14s respectively.

The four-day tournament followed on the heels of the association's December Invitational for senior players, which served not only for rankings, but to prepare the players for selection to the various national teams this year.

In his match against Carey, the last of two played on the final day of competition, Major Jr put his stamp on the first set when he held serve 40-0 on an ace to take the initial upper hand.

As they got started in the second set, Major Jr. broke Carey and held for a quick 2-0 lead.

He again held and broke Carey to go up 4-1 and they both held serve the rest of the match.

"It was all right. I didn't start off to well, but as it went on I started to play better and I got into a groove and displayed more energy," Major Jr stated.

"That was what was really causing me to play better because I wasn't playing with that much energy at the beginning of the match."

Major Jr, 15, said his hard work is finally paying off because not only has he lost some weight, but he's hitting the ball a lot better than he did in the past.

Still fatigued from the hectic schedule, having to play two matches the day before to get into the final, Carey said that he went out and played as hard as he could.

"I think I played good," insisted the 10th grader at Grand Bahama Academy.

"In the second set, I got a little tired because in the first set, I was working harder to try to get to more balls to stay in the match."

As he prepare to head back to Grand Bahama, the 15-year-old Carey said he will definitely be putting in a lot more work in his bid to compete in more international events for the Bahamas.

Also on Friday, Julio Valdes clinched the third spot in the boys 16s with a 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 decision over Michael Wallace.

On Thursday, Wallace's younger brother, Danny, took the top ranking in the boys' 14s with a 4-1, 4-0 win over O'Neal Mortimer. Justin Thompson got the third spot with a 4-2, 4-1 win over Jack Kelly.

Also on Thursday, Iesha Shepherd beat Gabrielle Donaldson 6-2, 6-0 to secure the top spot in the girls' 14s. Jade Bastian finished third after she won 4-2, 4-2 over Sydney Clarke.

And on Tuesday, with just three players in the draw, Erin Strachan emerged as the top player in the girls' 16s. Dominique Mortier got the second spot over Shaytonya Missick.

The tournament broke the BTLA's 2011 calendar to a close.

The calendar for the 2012 season has not yet been released.