The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas continued play at the International Tennis Federation’s North Central American and Caribbean Pre- Qualifying World Junior Tennis Tournament yesterday in Santa Tecla, El Salvador.

The boys’ team advanced to the quarterfinals with another 3-0 afternoon and a win over Barbados.

“We should fare well,” head coach Bradley Bain said. “We have a fairly strong team with good interchangeable parts as you saw [against Barbados] when we played different players, so we are looking forward to the quarterfinals.”

The boys’ team has gone 6-0 in the two matches thus far. Jerald Caroll led the way against Barbados in singles play with a 6-3, 6-1 over Dimitri Kirton and William McCartney followed up with another win 6-0, 6-1 over Aiden Clarke. The doubles pairing of Carroll and Jackson Mactaggart capped the tie with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Clarke and Ethan Warner.

The Bahamas remains the top seeded team in Group C, but fourth overall behind the Dominican Republic, El Salvador and Guatemala.

In the girls’ draw, Team Bahamas suffered a 3-0 loss to Costa Rica. Sarai Clarke lost 6-4, 6-2 to Isabella Segnini while Breann Ferguson suffered a lost 7-5, 6-1 loss to Valentina Obregon.

In doubles, Clarke and Ferguson lost 6-1, 6-3 to Obregon and Maripaz Aguero. “The level of play is always high at the World Juniors competition so the results our athletes are achieving is indicative of the hard work that they have all put in,” said Perry Newton, BLTA president.

“We knew the teams that the BLTA fielded were a talented group both on the boys and girls side. We are pleased that the athletes are taking advantage of this opportunity to exhibit their talent on a regional level. Bahamas Tennis continues to improve and this is positive for the future of tennis in The Bahamas.”

The winner of the tournament will advance to the next round in Mexico in May where they get a chance to play against the United States, Mexico and Canada for two qualifying spots to play in the World Championships for under- 14s in Europe.