The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THE US and Mexico will battle for the last spot in the IC Worldwide Challenge Final today at the National Tennis Centre. The Bahamas and Barbados will battle for bragging rights.

Both the US and Mexico remained undefeated after sweeping the Bahamas and Barbados respectively on the second of the three-day round robin tournament for male and female players 16 years and under in the IC Americas Regional Final.

The tournament got started on Saturday with the USA and Mexico posting identical 6-0 victories over Barbados and the Bahamas.

“It’s been a great tournament,” said Kit Spencer, president of the host IC Bahamas. “We had a chance to host the players at the same place and allowed them to eat lunch and dinner together, which has helped them to bond even closer off the court.

“On the court, I think we’ve seen some very good competition from all of the matches so far. We are looking forward to the final day of competition tomorrow. I think everybody had a good time playing here.”

The winner between the US and Mexico will go to the IC Worldwide Challenge in London next year at Wimbledon as they join other regional champions - South Africa, Argentina, Italy, Japan and host Great Britain.

For the US team, captained by Vesa Ponkka, there is nothing better they would like to do than to capture the title.

“We are doing fine. I’m pleased with the way the team is performing. We are ready for tomorrow (today),” said Ponkka, who is the director of the tennis academy that all four Americans are a part of in College Park, Michigan.

“We take everybody seriously. I think this match today against the Bahamas will definitely prepare us for Mexico. The Bahamas team was pretty good. They gave us a good chance to sharpen our games. So I’m very pleased.”

USA def. Bahamas 6-0

Boys #1 Singles - Evan Zhu (USA )def. Joshua Turnquest (BAH) 6-1, 6-1

Boys #2 Singles - Brian Tsao (USA) def. Shannon Francis (BAH) 6-0, 6-2.

Girls #1 Singles - Usue Arconada (USA) def. Iesha Shepard (BAH) 6-2, 6-2

Girls #2 Singles - Raveena Kingsley (USA) def. Gabriela Donaldson (BAH) 6-1, 6-1

Boys Doubles - Brian Tsao/Evan Zhu (USA) def Shannon Francis/Joshua Turnquest (BAH) 6-2, 6-1

Girls Doubles - Usue Arconada/Raveena Kingsley (USA) def. Gabriela Donaldson/Iesha Shepard (BAH) 6-1, 6-0

Bahamas team captain Neil McTarggart said he couldn’t ask for a better showing from the Bahamian team, whose ages are all 14.

“We faced a very strong American team. They are much stronger than we are and they had a lot more experience, but we are just grateful that we had this type of competition come to the Bahamas,” he said. “We’re a very young team, a growing team, although we were beaten soundly, I think we showed some promise in that our juniors are improving. They were good, but they were not good enough. We can see this as a platform to develop our tennis. So I’m encouraged because our players are getting better.”

Both Shephard and Turnquest felt they gave it their best shot against their older opponents.

“I played my best. I guess they were just a little more experienced than we were,” Shepard said. “They were much stronger than us, but we went out there and played as best as we could. I think we will have a better chance against Barbados to win.”

For Turnquest, the experience was something that he will not trade in for anything in the world.

“The players are much stronger and more experienced than we are,” Turnquest said. “But I think we went out there and performed our best. It was good to play in a tournament like this.”

Mexico def. Barbados 6-0

Boys #1 Singles - Fernando Ramirez (MEX) def. Gavin Hutchinson (BAR) 6-1, 6-1

Boys #2 Singles - Luis Flores (MEX) def. Andrew Symmonds (BAR) 6-2, 6-3

Girls #1 Singles - Renata Zarazua (MEX) def. Kiana Marshall (BAR) 6-0, 6-1

Girls #2 Singles - Costanza Gorches (MEX) def. Cherise Slocombe (BAR) 6-1, 6-1

Boys Doubles - Luis Flores/Fernando Ramirez (MEX) def. Gavin Hutchinson/Andrew Symmonds (BAR) 6-2, 6-2

Girls Doubles - Costanza Gorches/Renata Zarazua (MEX) def. Kiana Marshall/Cherise Slocombe (BAR) 6-0, 6-3

Barbados’ captain Marie-Jeanne Symmonds said they were in the same boat as the Bahamas.

“I think the competition was clearly much better than what we are accustomed to playing,” she said. “It’s been a good experience, but the results obviously wasn’t what we had anticipated.”

As for their showdown today against the Bahamas, Symmonds noted: “On the girls’ side, our girls are a little older, so the experience may count. The boys are evenly matched, so it all depends on how well they play. It should be a good match-up.”

Saturday’s results

USA def. Barbados 6-0

Boys #1 Singles - Evan Zhu (USA) def. Gavin Hutchinson (BAR) 6-1, 6-0

2 Singles - Brian Tsao (USA) def. Andrew Symmonds (BAR) 6-3, 6-0

Girls #1 Singles - Usue Arconada (USA) def. Kiana Marshall (BAR) 6-4, 6-3

Girls #2 Singles - Raveena Kingsley (USA) def Cherise Slocombe (BAR) 6-1, 6-0

Boys Doubles - Brian Tsao/Evan Zhu (USA) def. Gavin Hutchinson/Andrew Symmonds (BAR) 6-2, 6-1

Girls Doubles - Usue Arconada/Raveena Kingsley (USA) def. Kiana Marshall/Cherise Slocombe (BAR) 6-0, 6-3

Mexico def. Bahamas 6-0

Boys #1 Singles - Fernando Ramirez (MEX) def. Joshua Turnquest (BAH) 2-6, 6-3, 10-7

Boys #2 Singles - Luis Flores (MEX) def Shannon Francis (BAH) 6-3, 7-5

Girls #1 Singles - Renata Zarazua (MEX) def. Iesha Shepard (BAH) 6-0, 6-0

Girls #2 Singles - Contanza Gorches (MEX) def. Gabriela Donaldson (BAH) 6-2, 6-0

Boys Doubles - Luis Flores/Fernando Ramirez (MEX) def. Shannon Francis/Joshua Turnquest (BAH) 6-3, 6-1

Girls Doubles - Costanza Gorches/Renata Zarazua (MEX) def. Gabriela Donaldson/Iesha Shepard (BAH) 6-1, 6-1