Clarissa Chen lost first round to Daria Burobina of Ontario. Despite a valiant effort Clarissa lost the match in straight sets. The score made it seem pretty convincing but one big point here or there in Clarissa’s favour and the match would have been a lot closer. Every point is so critical at Nationals. The more we play these types of matches, the better we will be able to handle ourselves.

Evann Waschuk won a tough first round match against the 10th seed Kirsten Scott of Alberta. It was a huge win for Team Toba and earned us a lot of respect. In the round of 16, Evann took the first set 6-4. In the second set Evann was one point away from a berth in the quarterfinals. Marie-Christine Chartier of Quebec ended up winning the second set in a tie breaker as well as gaining momentum for the third set. Although Evann lost this tight match, I believe the next time she gets in a similar situation she’ll be able to handle it much better.

As Eric Pollard’s teammate for a couple years now, I thought he played one of the best sets I have ever seen him play. Eric had 3 set points against Team Prairie teammate Jordan Christiensen of Saskatchewan. Jordan had to make some really great shots to turn it around and take the first set 9-7 in the breaker. Jordan held on to win the second set 6-2. It was a heart breaker for Eric. He fought his hardest and he has gotta be a better player now because of it.

I lost first round to Adam Guenter of BC falling in 2 tight sets, 6-4, 6-4. It was a grind match for me as Guenter and I have very similar styles. In this match Guenter played the retriever role better then I. In the first round of consols I faced off against Sebastian King of Quebec. I ended up winning the match 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 and gained lots of confidence. I realized at Nationals you have to come out to play hard every day. When playing at the National level, anything can happen.

Coach Pete made our trip lots of fun. Besides being there for us during the tournament, helping us out with pretty much anything we needed, he also guided us around Montreal. We experienced downtown on St. Catherines Street and had a great day at the Rogers Cup. We saw some great matches and we were able to visit players lounge.

Thanks Coach Pete and great job Team TOBA!

Sean Bailey

Junior Nationals
} Tennis Manitoba Junior Tour

Supporting Manitoba's Juniors
The 2008 Tennis Manitoba Awards Banquet will help raise money to support junior tennis development in Manitoba. Funds will go towards junior competition travel expenses and training camps, as well as development programs for kids under the age of 12 years. Those wishing to support the Tennis Manitoba Awards Banquet can do so by donating gifts for the live and silent actions, or by becoming an event sponsor. Sponsors contributions will be acknowledged at the event and included in the event program, Tennis Manitoba web site and monthly newsletters. Tickets are priced at $80 per person with tax receipt availability for the maximum allowable amount. To contact Tennis Manitoba on how you can participate click here.

Tennis Manitoba Awards Banquet

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Men's Open Singles: Doug DeVriendt

Women's Open Singles: Evann Waschuk

Men's 4.5 Singles: Ion Ursatanu

Women's 4.5 Singles: Lori Mann

Men's 3.5 Singles: Gary Ma

Men's Open Doubles: Jared Connell

Women's Open Doubles: Alexa Zayac

Mixed Open Doubles: Geoff Kirbyson

Men's 4.5 Doubles: Glen Ziprick

Women's 4.5 Doubles: Darlene Lee

To view the final 2008 Tennis Manitoba Open Tour rankings click here.

Although the player registrations count for the 2008 Tennis Manitoba Open Tour was down slightly from 2007, the tour did add a new stop on the schedule at the newly opened Sargent Park Tennis Center. The Arby’s Manitoba Open, held this year at Kildonan Tennis Club, remains the tour’s premier tournament and continues to attract numerous out of province players. This year’s edition of the Arby’s Manitoba Open experienced an 8% player participation growth over 2007 and received strong audience support.

The 2008 Tennis Manitoba Open Tour point leaders will be honored when the tennis community gathers for the 3rd annual Tennis Manitoba Awards Banquet on Wednesday, November 26th at the Winnipeg Winter Club. They will be joined by the 2008 Tennis Manitoba Junior Tour point leaders, determined at the conclusion of the Auto Haus Volkswagen Fall Junior Classic currently being held at Glendale Golf & Country Club.

Proceeds from this year’s Tennis Manitoba Awards Banquet will go to support junior tennis development in Manitoba. Funds will go towards junior competition travel expenses and training camps, as well as development programs for kids under the age of 12 years. Those wishing to support the Tennis Manitoba Awards Banquet can do so by donating gifts for the live and silent actions, or by becoming an event sponsor. Sponsors contributions will be acknowledged at the event and included in the event program, Tennis Manitoba web site and monthly newsletters. To contact Tennis Manitoba on how you can participate click here.

Tickets are priced at $80 per person with tax receipt availability for the maximum allowable amount. The Tennis Manitoba Awards Banquet has attracted capacity crowds the past two years. You won’t want to miss out on Manitoba’s tennis event of the year. Get your tickets by calling Tennis Manitoba at (204) 925-5659 or online at www.tennismanitoba.com\tickets

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Tennis Manitoba Awards Banquet

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Contact Tennis Manitoba
Tennis Manitoba Awards Banquet

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Winnipeg, MB (TM) – Sean Bailey and Evann Waschuk are the 2008 Manitoba Indoor Tennis Champions after capturing the singles titles at Taylor Tennis. Bailey defeated Stephen Dubienski 6-7, 6-2, 6-1 and Waschuk outlasted Clarissa Chen 3-6, 6-1, 6-2. Bailey claimed a second title, teaming up with Dubienski to defeat Hart Pollack and Jared Connell 6-3, 6-4 in the Men’s Open Doubles Championship.

Other double winners were Maureen Diamond, who won the 4.5 Women’s Doubles and 4.5 Mixed Doubles events, and Lori Mann, who took home the 4.5 Women’s Singles and the 35+ Women’s Singles Championships.

The complete list of winners includes the following:

Open Events

Women’s Singles Evann Waschuk def. Clarissa Chen 3-6, 6-1, 6-2

Men’s Singles Sean Bailey def. Stephen Dubienski 6-7, 6-2, 6-1

Men’s Doubles Bailey/Dubienski def. Pollack/Connell 6-3, 6-4

Mixed Doubles Zayac/Kirbyson def. Chen/Bailey 0-6, 6-3, 6-2
 

4.5 Events

Women’s Singles Lori Mann def. Darlene Lee 6-2, 6-4

Men’s 4.5 Singles Ari Floom def. Marc Lloyd 6-2, 6-4

Women’s Doubles Diamond/Driedger def Hare/Saifer 6-1, 6-3

Men’s Doubles Hollins/McPherson def. Brooks/Harder 6-4, 6-4

Mixed Doubles Diamond/Yip def. Saifer/Whittaker 6-1, 6-1

3.5 Event

Men’s Singles Gary Ma def. Robert Haiko 6-3, 6-3

35+ Events
Women’s Singles Lori Mann def. Debra McKinnon 6-0, 6-2
Men’s Singles Myles Kraut def. Glenn Hollins 6-4, 6-3

45+ Event

Men’s Singles Tony Weekes def. Glenn Hollins 6-1, 6-1.

For complete 2008 Manitoba Indoor Tennis Championships draws and results click here.

The next stop on the Tennis Manitoba Open Tour is the Winnipeg Winter Club Open, November 16-23.

} Tennis Manitoba Open Tour

Winnipeg, MB (TM) – Sargent Park Tennis Center members, Chad and Cole LaCap, were the big winners at the Sargent Park Junior Cup. Chad captured both the U16 and U18 Boys Singles titles to leap up the Junior Tour point standings. After a brief hiatus from tennis, Chad has picked up where he left off, proving to be one of the top junior players in the province.

Younger brother Cole, who is only 10 years of age, won his first ever sanctioned tournament, upsetting both the #1 and #2 seeds to take home the U12 Boys Singles Championship.

The complete list of winners is as follows:

U14 Girls Singles: Kylie Waschuk won the round-robin
U16 Girls Singles: Evann Waschuk def. Kylie Waschuk 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(5)

U18 Girls Singles: Clarissa Chen won the round-robin

u12 boys singles: Cole LaCap def. Earinpreet Hirkewal 6-4, 1-6, 6-1

U14 Boys Singles: Shane Nicholls won the round-robin

U16 Boys Singles: Chad LaCap def. Alan Gardiner 6-0, 6-0

U18 Boys Singles: Chad LaCap def. Muzeen Ismath 6-4, 6-2

U14 Boys Doubles: Shane Nicholls / Eagan Peters won the round-robin

U18 Boys Doubles: Trinidad / Pollard def. LaCap / LaCap 9-1.

For complete Sargent Park Junior Cup match results, draws and photo gallery click here.

The next stop on the Junior Tour is the Auto Haus Volkswagen Fall Junior classic at the Glendale Golf & Country Club. The U12 and U16 events run September 13-18 and the U14 and U18 events take place September 19-25..

To view the updated Tennis Manitoba Junior Tour standings click here.

Tennis Manitoba Junior Tour

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Winnipeg, MB (TM) – Tennis Canada in partnership with the provincial tennis associations (PTAs), will launch the Rogers Rankings on January 1, 2009. This new and enhanced ranking system is based on the proven Chess Elo ranking system and has been developed and used with exceptional accuracy by the Quebec Tennis Federation for over twenty-five years.

The Rogers Rankings will allow all competitors to compare themselves to the nation’s top players. Similar systems have also been in use in Spain and France. The Rogers Rankings system will award points to players based on quality of wins (i.e. head-to-head results) versus rounds won in a tournament.

The system generates accurate rankings due to its ability to evaluate the calibre of competing players. based on this premise, the stronger player is expected to win while the weaker player is expected to lose.

Players will be ranked according to points accumulated in national, provincial and international tournaments sanctioned by the Tennis Canada ranking committee. Player points will be used to compute a national and provincial ranking.

To ensure accuracy, Tennis Canada and the PTAs began testing the system internally on January 1, 2008. Testing will occur for one full year before the launch on January 1, 2009.

Tennis Manitoba will continue to track Tennis Manitoba Junior Tour tournament points for selection to the Canadian Junior Nationals for junior players residing in Manitoba. As well, the final point standings used for determining the junior tour points leaders at Tennis Manitoba’s Annual Awards Banquet will include the best 5 results from the 8 Junior Tour tournaments held in 2008. The Auto Haus Volkswagen Fall Junior Classic will be the 8th and final tournament on the 2008 Junior Tour season. The Awards Banquet will be held on Wednesday, November 26th.

Rogers Rankings
Tennis Manitoba Rankings
Tennis Manitoba Awards Banquet

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Winnipeg, MB (The Lance, Matthew Powers) – Lee Carter is currently playing some of the best tennis of his young career — and the timing couldn’t be better.

The No. 1-ranked wheelchair tennis player in Canada, Carter is fresh off a win at the Canadian Open Wheelchair Tennis Championships, held Aug. 14 to 17 in Hamilton. He defeated Jon Rydberg, the 12th-ranked player in the world, by scores of 7-6, 3-6, 6-4.

The upset victory is a good omen given the fact the St. Vital product is priming himself for his first-ever appearance at the Paralympic Games, to be held Sept. 7 to 16 in Beijing, China.

“I am having a really good run right now and I am glad with the way I am playing. I am feeling good going into Beijing where I will have to be at my best in order to compete,” said the 32-year old Carter.

Currently ranked 31st in the International Tennis Federation world rankings, Carter knows he has a battle ahead of him if he is to make it on to the podium in China. Considering how quickly he has advanced in the sport, such a scenario isn’t out of the question.

Carter, who lost his legs in a railway accident, picked up a tennis racquet for the first time five years ago when a friend introduced him to the sport. He has been a rising star on the international scene ever since.

“It is quite remarkable given his lack of experience that he is able to play with some of the best players in the world,” said his coach Jared Connell.

“I think his potential is limitless because he is such a fast learner and such a great competitor. His great work ethic has really paid off.”

Together, the pair meet on a nearly daily basis at the Taylor Tennis Club, where their focus has been on improving Carter’s consistency and ball placement, which Connell says has greatly improved.

Carter already had a pretty strong skill set prior to the pair working together, Connell says.

“What has made him such a phenom is his world-class forehand and very good serve. Often he is able to over power his opponent,” Connell said.

Carter acknowledges that he might not be able to physically dominate the competition in Beijing the way he has here in Canada. However, he feels he has put himself in position to be successful with his preparation during the last few years.

“It has taken a lot of sacrifice. I took a leave of absence from my job to train, travel and compete full time,” Carter said.

As a carded athlete with Sport Canada, Carter says he receives tremendous support and is fortunate to have a personal trainer, sports psychologist and nutritionist, everything he needs in order to perform at a high level.

While Carter has already competed across the globe, he says nothing will compare to competing as a member of Team Canada in Beijing.

“The biggest honour any athlete can have is to represent their country on the international stage. Making the Paralympics has been a goal of mine for three years and I am super excited to go and play my best tennis,” he said.

In addition to playing in singles competition, Carter will team-up with doubles partner Yann Mathieu of Quebec. The Paralympics tennis competition will begin Sept. 8.

See also
Carter Receives Tennis Canada Excellence Award for a Second Time

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