The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

IESHA Shepherd, living up to the advanced billing, successfully defended her title as ladies' champion at the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association's 2016 Giorgio Baldacci National Open Tennis Challenge.

On Friday at the National Tennis Centre, top seed Shepherd had to fight to the end in securing a 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 win over No.2 seed Sydney Clarke in a classic showdown between two of the four ladies who will represent the Bahamas at the Fed Cup in July in Uruguay.

The other two members making up the team met in the third-place game as Elana Mackey clinched victory with a 6-0, 6-4 decision over Sierra Donaldson.

Shepherd advanced to the final after she knocked out Mackey 6-4, 6-3 and Clarke held off Donaldson 7-5, 6-2 in their semi-finals on Thursday.

While Shepherd, 17, and Donaldson, 16, are returning members of the Fed Cup team, this will be the first time that Clarke and Mackey, both 15-year-old high school students, will be making the team. Shepherd is off to a tennis academy and Donaldson is in online school here. Clarke is a 10th grader at the C R Walker Secondary High and Mackey is enrolled at Nassau Christian Academy.

The quartet earned their berths out of a field of seven in the week long tournament.

Unfortunately, none of the senior players, including Kerrie Cartwright, Simone Pratt and Danielle Thompson, participated in the tournament for a variety of reasons.

Despite their absence, BLTA president Elwood Donaldson said the tournament turned out to be very competitive and he commended the junior players for performing at a high standard.

A full report will be published in Wednesday's edition of The Tribune