The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

AS expected, it will come down to the much anticipated showdown between the Bahamas and the United States of America for the 2017 IC Doubles Week championship title.

The two teams will be back for another epic final today as they compete for the Deltec Trophy at the National Tennis Centre after they both went through the week-long tournament undefeated.

As the defending champions, the USA lost two matches in their 3-2 win over Canada, but they blanked Barbados and the International Team (in yesterday’s contest).

The Bahamas, runners-up last year, swept all of their opponents in order - Barbados, the International Team and Canada, their opponents yesterday.

Today, the Bahamas and the USA will begin play at 9:30am at the NTC to determine who will win the title this year.

“This sets up the much anticipated match up between these two teams,” said tournament organizer Kit Spencer. “These were the two seeded teams that we anticipated would end up with one of them being the potential winners.

“We looked at the teams and we knew that the players knew each other very well because they were playing against each other for years, so we felt they were the two strongest teams and its turned out that way.”

In their match against the International team, the USA’s Robert Williams and Stuart Chase defeatedHabbo De Vere and Larry Rolle 6-3, 6-3; Chauncey ‘Chum’ Steele and Henry Kennedy def. Bruce Moorhead and Devlin Fisher 6-3, 6-3; Gabriela Chase and Michelle Williams def. Birgitte Hostrup and Tara Mactaggart 6-1, 6-0; Robert and Michelle Williams won by default over Birgitte Hostrup and Habbo De Vere and Don Keenan and Norma Taylor def. Bruce Moorhead and Kay Beverley 6-1, 6-1.

And in their match up against Canada, Guillaume Bouffard and John Antonas def. Owen Pellew and Fraser Macdonald 7-6 (4), 6-4; Mas Kimball and Neil Mactaggart def.

Rob Benneyworth and Peter Clarke 7-5, 6-4; Sue Kimball and Kim O’Kelly def. Pam Olley and Janice Longhurst 6-4, 6-3; Kim O’Kelly and Neil Mactaggart def. Fraser Macdonald and Pam Olley 7-6, 4-6, 10-4 and Sue and Mas Kimball def. Rob Benneyworth and Margo Thomson 6-3, 6-3.

Each team played a Men’s Doubles combined age 105+ and combined age 125+; Ladies Doubles combined age 105+; Mixed Doubles combined age 105+ and combined age 125+.

The age of each player is what a player will be by the end of the 2017 (ITF standard).

The forty IC Clubs around the tennis world are made up primarily of players who have carried their rackets abroad on international teams, won National titles or are strong players who have significantly contributed to the development of tennis, according to Spencer.

The international events and competitions for these players sponsor an IC Junior competition for teams of two boys and two girls playing together on every continent one year with the winning teams sponsored to The Worldwide Finals the next year.

The last two worldwide finals have been at Wimbledon and Monte Carlo. The Bahamas IC will be sponsoring four Bahamian juniors to The North American event in Mexico next October.

.The IC is also about “giving back to the game we love” and has a philanthropic arm that helps finance and run projects around the world for underprivileged kids in poor communities.  For more information on the IC and all its activities got towww.ictennis.net

They use the motto: “Hands across the net, friendship across the ocean.”

The Deltec Trophy will be presented at the Final Night Prize Presentation “Bahamian” themed dinner at The Royal Nassau Sailing Club.