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News Archives: February 2005
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Manitoba Prevails Over Saskatchewan at Winter Club Junior Open
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| Photo: B Waschuk |
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Alex Minuk discusses draw with Kevin Kylar.
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Tue Feb 22'05 |
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Winnipeg, MB (TM) – Manitoba
athletes captured 6 of the 8 singles events at the Winnipeg
Winter Club Junior Open, the second of three qualifying
tournaments for the 2005 Indoor Junior Nationals. The host
province was again led by Sean LaCap, who won the U18 and U16
boys titles and secured a spot at Junior Nationals in both age
groups with the victories. Kevin Kylar, a member of Glendale Golf
and Country Club, defeated fellow Manitoban Alex Minuk to win the
U12 boys championship. Manitoba also won three titles on the
girls side, as Evann Waschuk won the U12 category, Jade Kirstein
won the U14 event and Joanna Woo captured the U18 championship.
The final Indoor Junior Nationals qualifying tournament is
scheduled for March 3-6 in Saskatoon at the Advantage Tennis
Center. Each player will count their best 2 results from the
three tournaments and the top 4 boys and top 4 girls in the U14,
U16 and U18 age groups will qualify to represent the Prairie
Region at the Indoor Junior Nationals in April.
Final Results
U12 Girls Final:
Evann Waschuk (Wpg.) def. Jordan Wilding (Wpg.) 6-2, 6-4
U14 Girls Final:
Jade Kirstein (Wpg.) def. Clarissa Chen (Wpg.) 6-1, 5-7, 10-6
U16 Girls Final:
Anna Nelke (Regina) def. Katherine Melnychuk (Sask.) 6-2, 6-3
U18 Girls Final:
Joanna Woo (Wpg.) def. Martyna Nowak (Regina) 7-6, 6-4
U12 Boys Final:
Kevin Kylar (Wpg.) def. Alex Minuk (Wpg.) 6-0, 6-2
U14 Boys Final:
Jordan Christiansen (Regina) def. Ahmed Farag (Wpg.) 6-1, 6-0
U16 Boys Final:
Sean LaCap (Wpg.) def. Mike Black (Wpg.) 6-2, 6-4
U18 Boys Final:
Sean LaCap (Wpg.) def. Ronan Conlon (Sask.) 6-0, 6-1
For further information contact Rick Bochinski at Tennis Manitoba
@ 925-5660.
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Tennis romance was quite a match – Parents produce
pair of blossoming stars
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| Photo: Joe Bryksa |
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Chad and Sean LaCap
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Fri Feb 18'05 by Winnipeg Free Press, Chris Cariou |
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Winnipeg, MB (Winnipeg Free
Press) – A love that blossomed on the tennis courts of Sargent
Park about two decades ago has produced two of the best young
players ever in Manitoba.
Both are competing this weekend for a berth in the Junior Indoor
National Championships in April.
Homer and Romilyn LaCap met each other while playing tennis at
the Sargent Park Tennis Courts and got married 17 years ago. Now
their sons Sean, 15, and 11-year-old Chad -- coached primarily by
their parents -- are among the best in their age groups in Canada
and seven-year-old Cole is taking up the game, too.
"When one thinks LaCap, one thinks tennis -- always. Automatic,"
Sean, a Grade 10 student at the sports program at Vincent Massey
Collegiate, said yesterday before playing his second match of the
Winnipeg Winter Club Junior Open, the second of three qualifying
tournaments for the Junior Nationals.
"My friends at school, back at Sargent Park, my nickname was
Tennis Boy," Sean said. "I honestly don't know what we'd do
without tennis. Half our afternoons are spent here at the Winter
Club. After school I'll bus down here from Vincent Massey and
we'll be here until 9 o'clock."
Sean won both the Under-16 and U-18 singles titles at the first
qualifying tournament in Saskatoon earlier this month and there's
a third qualifier back in Saskatoon March 4-6, but he's a virtual
lock to represent the Prairies at the Nationals. He shut out his
first opponent Wednesday night 6-0, 6-0, while Chad beat his
opponent 6-0, 6-2. The action continues all weekend at the Winter
Club, with the finals slated for Sunday.
Jared Connell, the head pro at the Winter Club, used to work at
Sargent Park and watched Sean and Chad play there with their
parents. As provincial tennis coach, he now tutors them at the
Winter Club for play on the provincial team and for the squad
that will represent Manitoba at the Canada Summer Games in August
in Regina.
He says the two brothers are unique in Manitoba tennis history.
Sean is the top single boys' player in Manitoba and will play
singles at the Canada Games, while Chad will be hoping to make
the doubles team. Sean lost the final of the U-14 Nationals two
years ago and he should be seeded in the top five in Canada in
the U-16 group heading into the Nationals, Connell said.
Chad, who's two feet or more shorter than Sean's 6-foot-1 frame
-- and who Connell dubbed Sean's "Mini-Me" -- should be among the
top 10 or 12 in Canada in his U-12 age group. Both are members of
the national team in their respective age groups.
"Basically the strength Sean relies on is he's got a really big
serve and a big forehand," Connell said. "And he has excellent
hands. He can improvise really well and hit a lot of angles."
Sean wants to make his living as a tennis pro and eventually
compete in Davis Cups and potentially at the Olympics for Canada.
Connell says he'll need to improve on his fitness and eventually
find better competition in Eastern Canada or the U.S.
"From there, it comes down to breaks, luck and determination. But
definitely there's talent there... it's those X factors, that
desire and commitment to the work ethic. If that's there, I think
the potential for him can be limitless."
Connell said the LaCaps are rare in Manitoba because they've both
achieved so much at such a young age. But he saw them all the
time at Sargent Park, so it's not so surprising.
"They played tennis there all the time, all day long, and when
these boys were young kids, that's what they did," he said. "That
was their social life. They'd go to school and then they'd go and
hang out at Sargent Park and play tennis all day, all night. It's
like that's their culture."
chris.cariou@freepress.mb.ca |
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Officials Needed for Summer Tournaments
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Thu Feb 17'05 |
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Winnipeg, MB (TM) – Tennis
Manitoba will be hosting an Introduction to Officiating clinic in
an effort to introduce more tennis enthusiasts to officiating.
The clinic will be held on Saturday, March 19th and Sunday, March
20th from 9:00am-5:00pm each day. The clinic will include the
following:
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classroom sessions at Sport
Manitoba, 200 Main Street
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Rules of Tennis
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Line Umpiring
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Chair Umpiring
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Role of a Roving Umpire
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on-court sessions at Taylor Tennis, 1500 Taylor Avenue.
For further information contact Rick Bochinski at Tennis Manitoba
@ 925-5660.
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Tennis Community Rallies to Help Tsunami Relief Effort
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Wed Feb 16'05 by Robert Kennedy |
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Winnipeg, MB (TM) – On January
13 Constable Finney School held a fundraiser for the victims of
the tsunami. Our school wanted to do something unique so we
designed tennis balls to sell. We decided that the design should
represent Canada and the concept of caring. Our original design
was to color half of a tennis ball like a Canadian flag. One
student suggested we change the Maple Leaf to a heart to show we
care. Thus the final design was created. To procure the balls
we asked Jared Connell at the Winnipeg Winter Club who generously
gave us a box of used balls. We had planned on selling 100 balls
(secretly we hoped to sell 200). Three classes went about
coloring the balls. We set up a table in each area of our school
and had classes come out and buy the balls for $1 each. The
response was overwhelming as we sold 340 balls. We were caught
short on balls and had to raid the Phys. Ed. storage room. By the
end of the day there wasn’t a tennis ball in the school that
wasn’t covered in red, as well as every student working on
coloring the extra balls. We went back to Jared and explained our
situation and he said we could have as many as we needed. We set
up the next day and in the end had sold over 500 Canada Cares
tennis balls.
Everyone that has purchased a ball has been put in a draw for
a Tennis Manitoba toque, Wilson tennis racquet, a can of U.S.
Open tennis balls and Wilson wristbands. The prizes were donated
by Tennis Manitoba and Wilson.
To extend the fundraiser further we designed t-shirts and
Howard Wiebe at Big Sand gave us an incredible price to produce
them. The shirts have the heart flag in the shape of a tennis
ball with Canada above it and Cares below it. We have sold 60
shirts to date not only at our school, but also in the tennis
community. There are still shirts available for $10, so if you
wish to purchase one or donate any used balls contact Robert
Kennedy at (204) 832-9901. |
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LaCap Top Manitoban at First Junior National Selection Event
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Tue Feb 8'05 |
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Winnipeg, MB (TM) – The
Advantage Tennis Club in Saskatoon played host to the first of
three selection tournaments to qualify 4 participants in each age
category of each gender to represent the Prairie Team at the U14,
U16 and U18 Canadian Junior Nationals, to be held in April. This
event was part of a prairie circuit which consists of events in
both Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Manitoba players competed very
well in the first selection tournament, capturing 3 out of 7
events. Leading the way was Sean LaCap, who won the boys U16 and
U18 singles titles. Alexa Zayac was victorious in the girls U18
singles category.
Special thanks go to all of the parents who made the trip to
Saskatchewan, especially Marg and Kurt Kirstein who helped the
Provincial Coach, Jared Connell, with transportation of the
players from Winnipeg to Saskatoon and home again.
The Winnipeg Winter Club looks forward to hosting the Junior
Open next week, the second event on the indoor prairie circuit.
Final Results
U12 Girls Final: Lily Wiebe (Saskatchewan) def. Evann Waschuk
(Manitoba) 6-2, 6-2
U14 Girls Final: Lily Wiebe (Saskatchewan) def. Jade Kirstein
(Manitoba) 6-2, 7-6
U16 Girls Final: Anna Nelke (Saskatchewan) def. Katherine
Melnychuk (Saskatchewan) 6-2, 6-1
U18 Girls Final: Alexa Zayac (Manitoba) def. Teo Costin
(Saskatchewan) 6-2, 6-1
U14 Boys Final: Jordan Christiansen (Saskatchewan) def. Eric Yee
(Saskatchewan) 6-4, 7-5
U16 Boys Final: Sean LaCap (Manitoba) def. Michael Black
(Manitoba) 6-0, 6-3
U18 Boys Final: Sean LaCap (Manitoba) def. Ronan Conlon
(Saskatchewan) 6-2, 7-6
For further information contact Rick Bochinski at Tennis Manitoba
@ 925-5660. |
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