The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

MEMBERS of the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association’s team to the 2021 COTECC Under-12 Tournament said they were pleased with their performance in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, last week.

The team of Brianna Houlgrave, Grand Bahamian Tatyana Madu and Kaylah Fox, coached by Marion Bain, returned home on Saturday with a second place finish and a qualifying spot for the final in November.

After getting off to a 3-0 start, the Bahamas suffered its only loss to host Dominican Republic Thursday before rebounding to complete the round robin on Friday with a 3-0 sweep over the US Virgin Islands.

Bain said as the tournament progressed, the players were able to elevate their standard of play.

“Going into the tournament, we really had no play since the (BLTA) Nationals,” Bain said. “So I would say our performance was exceptional as most of the kids were already competing in their respective countries.”

Despite the lack of tournament play here due to the COVID-19 restrictions, the players were all content with the way they performed last week.

“Going into the tournament, I felt a little nervous, but as soon as I started playing, I was relaxed and it was a lot of fun,” Fox said.

With this being her first time playing overseas without the support of her parents in the stands, Fox, an 11-year-old student of St Andrew’s School, said it was an amazing experience “playing against different kinds of players and having to take on her responsibility.

“When I first got here, it was a little hard and scary, but after a while, I grew accustomed and started to enjoy it. Even small things like this gets us ready for the big world. It was an amazing experience representing my country.”

Houlgrave, an 11-year-old student of Windsor Academy, said it was just a great experience playing against players from different countries.

“My first time in this tournament was very nerve wracking because this was the first time away from my parents,” she said. “As the days went by, I grew accustomed to being organised and taking responsibility for myself. It was a little challenging, but I faced my fears.”

For Madu, a 12-year-old student of Bishop Michael Eldon, she welcomed the opportunity to play for the Bahamas outside of the country.

“I feel like it was a great experience,” Madu said. “At first, it was difficult because I was away from my parents for the first time. But after a while, I got used to it. I felt it was a very organised tournament and it also helped me to be more responsible.”

For the finals in November, coach Bain said the goal is to get the players ready mentally. “They deserve to take a couple days off with active rest and start back on court as early as this weekend,” she said. “We need to tighten up on our doubles play as at these games, doubles is always the tiebreaker. We need to play at least two tournaments and more match play.”

As they look ahead to the finals, Fox said they just have to be “a little more prepared.”

Houlgrave said she has to improve on her game plan “just a little bit” to improve her strategy for the “different types of styles” she will face.

But she admitted that she’s very “proud of myself” for making it “this far in the tournament.”

Madu said the tournament helped her to learn some of the areas she needs to work on and she is looking forward to “improving on everything because there’s always room for improvement.”

She said she’s just glad she worked as hard as she did to get through the tournament with her team-mates and coach Bain, who was there for them every step of the way.

The team returned home on Saturday where they were greeted at the Lynden Pindling International Airport by BLTA president Perry Newton and their family members.

“Golden Girl” Pauline Davis-Thompson, representing the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, was also on hand to offer her congratulations to the team.