Guyana’s Junior Lawn Tennis players, who participated in the World Junior Lawn Tennis Under – 14 Tournament in the Dominican Republic, finished 14th following the conclusion of the championships last weekend.
Guatemala were declared winners of the 16-nation tournament while the hosts placed second.
The local contingent of Vaedenand Resaul, Nigel Lowe and Wayne Baker of the Sheltez Tennis Club Guyana, in their final match lost to Barbados, a team they had beaten in the first round of the championships, 1-2 which pushed them further down the pecking order.
Despite the final placement, Coach Shelly Daly, who had hoped for a good showing at the championships, told Stabroek Sport that she was pleased with the efforts by the players.
“Overall, I think the players’ performances were much more than I expected. They were very eager and hungry to place and finish at a high position [but] we were up against a very strong group of players, even Barbados,” she said.
She added that the three young men, who are familiar with Guyana’s record at the championships, wanted to give a better account of themselves.
However, she pointed out that most of the Latin American players, who are internationally seeded, made the assignment a tough one.
“They wanted to go out there and show that they are capable of performing just as good… even though most of the Central American countries’ players are at a very high standard.”
Daly, nevertheless, noted that the Guyanese were able to compete and she is satisfied.
