Trenace Lowe managed to use her recent loss to Michelle John at the Caribbean Junior, Cadet Table Tennis Championships two weeks ago as motivation towards grabbing two titles at the Super Silver Bowl Table Tennis Tournament in Trinidad and Tobago last weekend.
In this her second year of participation in the tournament, Lowe won the girls’ U-18 title and the open women’s title, which was won for the past seven years by Trinidadian women’s champion Aleena Edwards who is currently injured.
Lowe told Stabroek Sport that she had been hungry for revenge after being edged out of the under-18 women’s title at the recently-concluded Caribbean Junior, Cadet Table Tennis Championships in which she lost 4-3 to John.
“At the Caribbean championships, I was sort of disappointed that I lost but it was a very tight match and could have gone either way,” she said.
“I know that in the past when Michelle and I clash, we always have these very exciting matches, and neither of us dominate for a while; for instance if we play ten matches, she wins five and I win the other five, and that is how it has been for the longest while,” Lowe added.
Lowe said that she had always been comfortable competing in Trinidad, and although she had not planned to defeat the Caribbean U-18 champion, she was eager and ready when the opportunity presented itself. “I did not really plan to get my revenge at this tournament because I did not know she was participating, but I was very hyped-up about this tournament because I was going to defend my titles as the U-18 and U-21 champion,” she said.
Revenge had a savoury taste when Lowe pelted out a 3-0 beating to John in the girls’ U-18 final, winning by the scores 11-7, 12-10, 11-7.
Lowe said that although most of their matches were usually close, she was pumped-up about that one and launched an attack on John, as she felt she had a chip on her shoulder.
John battled back in the U-21 final and won the dramatic encounter 3-2 (17-15, 7-11, 11-5, 13-15, 15-13),
Lowe and John crushed their opponents to force the third all-Guyanese final when they met in the open women’s final.
Trenace said that she switched-on back after she had to play the best tennis of the tournament in the semifinals to win the final game after trailing 4-8 in the fifth and final game.
Lowe said that in the women’s final which she won 3-1 she felt confident about all her shots and got past John with relative ease.
“I was really confident in the women’s finals when I got the second title and it will really boost my game,” she said.
“Although I got the best of her in Trinidad, I think I would have traded it in for the win at the Caribbean championships because apart from the fact that it was a regional championship match, nothing can compare to the glory of winning at home,” she added.
