Toronto, ON (TC) – Tennis Canada, in conjunction with the provincial tennis associations, announced Monday the inaugural University and College Tennis Championships scheduled for this summer during the Rogers Cup presented by American Express.

Eight male and eight female athletes will qualify for the tournament through competition in one of five regional qualifying events that will take place across the country. Participants will earn a berth to this national tournament via playdowns in British Columbia, Alberta/Saskatchewan/Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, or the Atlantic region. All entrants must be Canadian citizens enrolled as full-time students at a post-secondary institution in the past 12 months, and must be under the age of 28 years as of the date of the qualifying tournament.

The 16 qualifiers will travel to Toronto and compete for the university and college championships August 17-19 during the Rogers Cup presented by American Express, a Tier I women’s event on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.

“We are thrilled to host the Canadian university and college championships at one of our national training centres in Toronto,” said Hatem McDadi, vice-president, tennis development, Tennis Canada. “This tournament is a great opportunity to showcase the tennis talent in this country at the university and college level in front of the largest gathering of tennis fans. The event also gives our athletes a chance to play in a highly competitive environment within the context of a world-class showcase like the Rogers Cup presented by American Express.”

REGIONAL PLAYDOWNS

  Alberta/Saskatchewan/Manitoba
     June 8-10
     Saville Sports Centre, Edmonton, Alberta

  Atlantic
     June 14-17
     Moncton Tennis Club, Moncton, New Brunswick

  British Columbia
  Odlum Brown Summer Series presented by Acura

     May 12-27
     24th Annual New Westminster Hyack Festival Open

     May 31-June 3
     Richmond Open

     June 14-17
     Delta Open at Sunshine Hills

     June 28-July 1
     Burnaby Open (Level 1.5)

  Ontario
     June 15-17 Rexall Centre, Toronto

  Quebec
     June 8-10 To be determined

National Championships

     August 17-19
     Rogers Cup presented by American Express
     Rexall Centre, Toronto

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Winnipeg, MB (TM) – The 2007 Western Canada Summer Games team will play host to two teams from the USTA Northern Section in the 1st Annual USA/Canada Cup on June 26, 27 and 28. The competition will take place at the Winnipeg Lawn Tennis Club and will pit the top U16 players from Manitoba against the best U16s from Minnesota and North Dakota in a team tennis format.

The 2007 Western Canada Summer Games team is currently training on a weekly basis in preparation for the Games, which will be held August 3-7 in Edmonton, Alberta. Peter Otto is the Head Coach and is being assisted by Robert Kennedy and Sean LaCap. Kyla McNicol will be joining the team as Manager upon her return from the University of Central Florida.

Training team members include the following:

More on Western Canada Summer Games

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Winnipeg, MB (TM) – The table that will be used to calculate points for players competing in Junior Tour tournaments is now available on the Tennis Manitoba website. This table will be used for all Junior Tour tournaments leading up to the 2007 Outdoor Prairie Regionals and the 2008 Indoor Prairie Regionals. Points are allocated based on the number of players in the main draw and are used for Prairie Regional selections as well as to determine local tournament seeds. The top ranked players in each age category, based on results from Junior Tour events held during the past 12 months, will also be recognized at the Tennis Manitoba Awards Banquet later this fall.

In the near future the point table will be supported by the online Tennis Manitoba Baseline System until the end of 2007. A new head-to-head ranking system, named ELO, is currently being tested by Tennis Canada and planned to be adopted by all Canadian Provincial Tennis Associations by January 2008.

Junior Tour Points Table

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Winnipeg, MB (TM) – The second annual Awards Banquet and Hall of Fame Dinner is being planned for this fall and Tennis Manitoba is looking for volunteers to assist with various tasks. David Wheaton will be coming to Winnipeg as the keynote speaker for the evening and he will also be conducting a clinic for some of our junior players and taking part in a doubles exhibition match.

Major tasks for the Awards Banquet include layout and design of the program that will be printed, organization of the 50/50 draw and mini-tennis court challenge, solicitation and collection of silent auction prizes, planning of the cocktail reception at one of our tennis clubs, organizing the doubles exhibition match and set-up of the banquet room.

Your assistance would be greatly appreciated!

Contact Tennis Manitoba

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Winnipeg, MB (TM) – Tennis Manitoba is looking for tennis enthusiasts who would be interested in becoming a certified tennis official. Specifically, we require several new Roving Umpires to join the officiating ranks for the tournaments that will be held this summer. All officials are compensated financially for their time and the honorariums have been increased for the upcoming summer tournaments.

An 'Introduction to Officiating' clinic will be held on May 12 and 13 in Winnipeg.

To learn more about officiating contact the Tennis Manitoba office at (204) 925-5660.

Tennis Manitoba Officiating
Contact Tennis Manitoba

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Winnipeg, MB (TM) – The United States Tennis Association (USTA) has launched their tennis Digital Video Library containing 200 clips from 40 of today's top players. The video clips cover various shots including serves, returns, ground strokes and complete points. This is your chance to view technique from a courtside location at the US Open. This one of a kind teaching tool provides an aid to establish proper technique and fundamentals in all of your strokes and is available at no charge.

USTA Player Development Digital Library

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Winnipeg, MB (TM) – Sean Bailey of the Kildonan Tennis Club breezed through the competition at the Big Sand Junior Classic, held at Taylor Tennis on the Easter weekend, capturing the U16 and U18 Boys Singles titles without dropping a set. Sean defeated Eric Pollard 6-1, 6-1 in the U16 final and bested Ahmed Farag 6-1, 7-6 in the U18 final.

The Big Sand Junior Classic was the first tournament to fall under the new 52 week system, which will see all Junior Tour tournaments from April, 2007 until March, 2008 included in the calculation of points toward the standings for the 2008 Indoor Prairie Regionals. Players will count their best 5 results out of the 7 scheduled tournaments in determining the individuals that qualify for the Prairie Regionals.

The next tournament on the Junior Tour schedule is the World of Water Junior Open, May 10-13 at the Kildonan Tennis Club. For a complete list of the Junior Tour events click here.

Big Sand Junior Classic singles results were as follows:

U12 Girls Kylie Waschuk def. Emily Fridrik 7-5, 7-5
U14 Girls Jovana Djordjevic def. Lillie Cholakis 1-6, 6-2, 6-3
U16 Girls Erika Fridrik def. Jovana Djordjevic 6-1, 6-2
U18 Girls Galia Pollock def. Ola Ochrymowicz 6-4, 6-2
U12 Boys Jeremy Gunn def. Brock Pollard 6-2, 6-2
U14 Boys Oliver Becerra def. Kevin Kylar 6-0, 6-1
U16 Boys Sean Bailey def. Eric Pollard 6-1, 6-1
U18 Boys Sean Bailey def. Ahmed Farag 6-1, 7-6

For complete draw results click here.

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Winnipeg, MB (TM) – Jared Connell, former Head Pro at the Winnipeg Winter Club, came back to his old surroundings and captured the Men’s 30+ Singles championship at the Winter Club Senior Open, defeating Geoff Kirbyson 6-7(3), 6-2, 10-8 in an exciting final. Connell spent 5 years teaching at the Winter Club before moving to Taylor Tennis last September.

Kirbyson was able to exact a measure of revenge in the Men’s 30+ Doubles final, as he teamed up with current Winter Club Head Pro, Peter Otto, to upend Connell and his partner, Mark Arndt, 1-6, 7-5, 7-6(3).

Complete results were as follows:

Men’s 30+ Singles: Connell def. Kirbyson 6-7(3), 6-2, 10-8
Men’s 50+ Singles: Brian Giesbrecht def. Glen Dyck 6-3, 7-5
Men’s 30+ Doubles: Kirbyson/Otto def. Connell/Arndt 1-6, 7-5, 7-6(3)
Men’s 40+ Doubles: Chawla/Read def. Ziprick/Zelinski 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-3
Women’s 30+ Singles: Darlene Lee def. Debra McKinnon 7-6(3), 6-3
Women’s 40+ Singles: Lisa Bakko def. Lorraina Tran 6-4, 6-0
Women’s 30+ Doubles: Varathappan/McKinnon def. Cadigan/Lee 6-0, 6-4
Mixed 30+ Doubles: Lucht/Jackiew def. Schumacher/Gillies 6-3, 6-2

For complete draw results click here.

The next event on the Senior Tour is the Manitoba Senior Open scheduled for May 22-27 at the Winnipeg Lawn Tennis Club. For a complete list of the Senior Tour events click here.

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