Gentle sisters capture two titles

Oct 20, 2012 Sports

Stephney wins Boys Under-14

Action continued in the Nigel’s Supermarket Junior Tennis Classic and produced a double win for the Gentles as Shawna Gentle was able to secure the Girls 18 title over Krystal Sukra, while her younger sister Afruica took the Girls Under-14 title with a win over Kezia Boyle.

Shawna Gentle

Shawna, who is also the top ranked senior player, progressed to the finals after she overcame Tamasha Boyle while Sukra had a much harder time getting past 14 yr old Nicola Ramdyhan in three close sets 3-6, 6-2, 10-5. Ramdyhan fought bravely against the hard hitting Sukra but lost after taking the first set 6-3 from Sukra who bounced back gamely to win the next two.
In the final, Gentle had an easier than expected win over Sukra with whom she has had epic battles in the past. The final scoreline was 6-3, 6-2 for Gentle who maintained her dominance in the Girls 18 category.
Her younger sister Afruica, who will be representing Guyana along with a full junior team in Suriname later this month, had an easy win over Boyle to capture the top spot in the Girls 14 category.
In the Boys Under-14, Judah Stephney emerged the winner after a tough 6-4, 6-4 win over Keshon Reece who played well and has improved his game considerably over a short time span.
Stephney defeated Lemuel Ross 7-5, 6-1 in his previous match while Reece beat Bernard Shaw 6-1, 6-1.
In the Boys 18 category, the final will be played this weekend between top seed Gavin Lewis and Seanden David Longe as the top two players in the division booked their places with wins over the much improved Craig Campbell and Benedict Sukra respectively.
Lewis, who had dominated in the round robin stages, had a tough time finding a groove against the hard working Campbell and was able to notch up a 6-2 6-4 win, while David Longe had to come from behind to edge out Benedict Sukra who has played significantly better after returning to tennis after securing 12 grade ones to be a top 10 student at the recent CSEC exams.
Sukra started off with a 3-0 lead which he converted to 5-4 before Longe stormed back to win the set 7-5. The second set went 6-3 to Sukra who levelled the match before losing the super tie break decider 10-6 to Longe who is a regular in the Boys 18 finals.
The tournament attracted players who competed in 4 categories in round robin competition and is an annual feature on the junior tennis calendar.