The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedi.net

Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association president Perry Newton was relieved to see the members of the women’s team for the Billie Jean King Cup arrive in town prior to their departure for Panama City, Panama, on Saturday.

Player/captain Kerrie Cartwright along with collegians Sydney Clarke and Elana Mackey were all in attendance yesterday for a practice and media day at the National Tennis Centre.

Grand Bahamian Simone Pratt, the other member of the team, is currently in the United States and will be joining the team here on Friday before they travel.

“We are missing Simone right now, but it’s good to have all the other girls together here at home,” Cartwright said. “We know with COVID-19, it’s difficult for everybody to travel, but it’s nice for us to be here and people to see us before we head off.”

With the team in place, Cartwright said the practice sessions will allow her the opportunity to look at the progress each player has made before she makes the final determination on who plays singles and doubles during the competition.

“I’m looking forward to it,” said Cartwright, a new mother. “The last time when I served as player/captain in 2019, I was a lot more nervous because I really didn’t know what to expect.

“But it’s kind of easy now because I’ve learned that in life, everything is a challenge and you just have to learn to face it and look forward to it and that’s exactly what I’m going to do, take it head on.”

Having delivered her newborn baby Kairo last year, the 29-year-old Cartwright said she has been staying fit working out daily while doing her coaching lessons in Washington, DC where she currently resides.

She said she’s ready to compete on her 10th national team, having played from 2008-2011, 2013, 2015, 2018, 2019 and compiling a 19-8 win-loss record in singles and 8-6 in doubles.

Clarke bubbling with excitement

Anybody who knew Clarke before she left for the University of Alabama at Birmingham, knows that she’s always excited about playing the game of tennis, win, lose or draw.

Back home to head off to Panama for her third appearance on the team, Clarke said she’s excited as ever to be in company with her team-mates as they get re-acclimated to each other. “I feel very confident about this year’s team, compared to the previous ones,” said Clarke, who played previously on the team in 2017 and 2019. “I know what is expected of me when I get there and what is expected of me.

“I’ve been prepping myself in college and now it’s just continuing to do what I’ve been doing all year. I know we can do it as a team. It’s a matter of taking it one day at a time. Once we continue to work hard and remain focused, we can do it.”

Looking back at her freshman season, the 19-year-old Clarke said it’s been “tennis, tennis and more tenni” as she got to do what she loves, even though they were hindered at times because of the restrictions of Covid-19.

“I’m very fortunate to have been able to go off and play on the team and not have to worry about being interrupted by Covid-19,” stated Clarke, a former student of CR Walker Secondary High, who graduated last year from the Windsor High School where she played at the Albany Tennis Academy.

Mackey was thrilled to be on her second team

“I think when we go to Panama, we will do very well,” she insisted. “I’m excited to be back home and to display my skills on this team. I know that we will do very well.”

Mackey, 18, comes home having completed her hectic sophomore year at Mars Hill in North Carolina after spending a freshman year at the University of the Bahamas.

The Nassau Christian Academy graduate not only played tennis, but she also ran on the Lions’ track team as a middle distance runner as she made her contribution as double sports competitor.

“I went 5-2 for the season in tennis, so I was really happy about that,” she said. “In track, it was pretty rough seeing that I had different schedules, practicing track in the morning and tennis in the afternoon.

“But I think I performed very well on the track. I got a season’s best in the 800 metres in two minutes and 32 seconds. My coaches gave me enough breaks so that I could compete in both events.”

With her conditioning coming in from the dual sports participation, Mackey said she hopes to fit in whenever called upon because she believes that the team is a solid one and everyone has the ability to perform on any given day at the tournament.

Newton said once the players started to arrive, he tried to hold back the smiles because he was so elated to see them.

“It’s really exciting. We’re all anxious for them to see us competing,” said Newton, who is expected to travel as the head of delegation. “It’s the first one in a long time, but we’re excited and prepared. It’s been a long time coming just waiting to see if they will put on this event.

“But they have everything in place. It’s going to be a strict protocol with everyone in the bubble and getting tested for Covid-19 every other day. So we’re excited and ready for the task at hand.”

The team will have to take a Covid-19 test on their arrival before they are allowed to get in a practice session before the draw takes place on Tuesday with competition starting on Wednesday.

In Panama City, the Bahamas will be one of seven countries participating. The other countries are Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Panama and Uruguay. They will be divided into two pools wirth four and three teams respectively with the winners of each pool advancing to a playoff to determine which nation will advance to the Americas Group One for 2022.

“I’m excited. From what I’ve seen so far with them hitting, they look good,” Newton said. “They have all been training or competing in college, so once they get together on Friday, Kerrie will fine tune the team and go over some strategy plans.”

Newton thanked both the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture and the Bahamas Olympic Committee for providing some funding to assist the team travel.

He also expressed the BLTA’s gratitude to Faye and Flurry, who for the second year, provided the uniforms for the players to participate in as they did in 2019 when the Bahamas last played in the Billie Jean King Cup.

The Billie Jean King Cup (changed in 2020) is named after the legendary American tennis player, who was once ranked as the number one player in the world. It was formerly called the Fed Cup, the equivalent to the men’s Davis Cup.

Men’s Davis Cup team Player/Captain Marvin Rolle was on hand to wish the team, whom he previously coached, every success as they head out before his team leave after their tournament is completed.

“Good luck. It’s a good team. Kerrie is a veteran on the team. She’s been in this game for a long time, so I’m sure she has a lot to pass down to the younger kids,” Rolle said.

“Both Sydney and Elana are now in college, so this is a good experience for them to put what they’ve learnt into practice here. So I hope they do well and display their talent. They will do well.”

At the last tie in Lima, Peru, in April 2019, the Bahamas defeated Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago, but fell short in the promotion play-off against Peru. Cartwright was the player/captain of the team that included Clarke, Danielle Thompson and Sierra Donaldson.

The 2020 competition was called off due to the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.