Winnipeg, MB (Rufus Nel, Tennis Canada) – It is hard to believe that one year ago I was standing watching the Manitoba Open at Kildonan and meeting new people telling so many stories about all the tennis activities and events that happen around the province. After travelling around to all the smaller communities I was able to assess for myself what the tennis situation was like in Manitoba.

In my position as Senior Director for the Prairie Tennis Alliance my responsibility is to help Rick Bochinski, Executive Director for Tennis Manitoba, build sustainable programs that are accessible for everyone. Working alongside Rick we have been able to get the message out to many organizations that people can learn and play tennis anywhere if they use the right equipment.

This fall there will be over 30 communities offering community team tennis programs, and by the end of summer we will have had hundreds of kids participate in the Rogers Rookie Tour events throughout the province.

An under-12 (U12) provincial program was piloted in January where selected U8-U12 juniors trained with National coaches from Tennis Canada. This summer we are doing a talent search for athletes who will be invited to a tryout camp in September, where we will select juniors to train in programs to compliment the good work their coaches are doing with them. Our goal is to have an accessible pathway for all juniors and adults of all ages and abilities to be able to achieve their tennis aspirations.

In June we handed out 500 rackets at our first Kids Dental Tennis Fest, a grassroots awareness event that is the first stage in the pathway that will hopefully attract many kids to a sport for life.

I would like to thank everyone involved in tennis for making my first year a fantastic experience, and together I hope we can build a province where tennis will be played by everyone everywhere.
 

Rufus Nel, Senior Director, Prairie Tennis Alliance

See also:
Tennis instructor progressing across Prairies, makes stop in Portage
Kids Dental Tennis Fest a Smashing Success
Rogers Rookie Tour off to a Flying Start

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Winnipeg, MB (TM) – Canada Games Coach, Peter Otto, was thrilled by the performance of his team members this past weekend at the Kildonan Open Tennis Championships. Manitoba’s top juniors, who will be representing our province at the Games in Prince Edward Island in mid-August, swept all of the Open events.

Sean Bailey and Evann Waschuk sailed through the Men’s Singles and Women’s Singles draws, respectively, without dropping a single set. Both players also captured the doubles titles, as Evann teamed up with her sister, Kylie, and Sean partnered with his Canada Games teammate, Chad LaCap.

Alexia Cholakis and Chad LaCap prevented Waschuk and Bailey from taking home the Mixed Doubles crown, as they upended the top-seeded duo in the final.

The Kildonan Open finals results were as follows:
 

  Open

Women's Singles: Evann Waschuk def Anika Campeau 6-2, 6-1

Men's Singles: Sean Bailey def Sean LaCap 6-0, 6-0

Women's Doubles: K Waschuk / E Waschuk def L Gloria / R LaCap 6-2, 6-2

Men's Doubles: S Bailey / C LaCap won round robin

Mixed Doubles: A Cholakis / C LaCap def E Waschuk / S Bailey 6-2, 2-6, 6-4

  4.5

Women’s Singles: Emily Fridrik def Lori Mann 6-2, 4-6, 6-3

Men's Singles: Lito Magduza def Brian Plett 6-1, 1-6, 6-4

Men's Doubles: N Pe / E Zelinski def M Lloyd / C Shay 4-6, 6-3, 6-2

Mixed Doubles: L Mann / N Pe def H Kumagai / J Arndt 4-6, 6-3, 6-2

  3.5

Men's Singles: Jake Bergen def Glen Dyck 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-2

To access the Kildonan Open Tennis Championships online draws click here.

The next stop on the Tennis Manitoba Open Tour is the Tuxedo Tennis Club Open Championships, August 24-30. For tournament entry forms click here.

  Tennis Manitoba Open Tour
  Canada Games

See also...
Canada Games Team Set to Compete in PEI

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Winnipeg, MB (Ashley Prest, Winnipeg Free Press)

Evann Waschuk completed a tennis trifecta at last weekend's Manitoba Open. On her own, the 16-year-old took home the women's singles championship on Sunday, defeating Alexa Zayac 6-4, 6-3. Waschuk also won the women's doubles title with Erika Fridrik, overcoming Anita Paskvalin and Clarissa Chen 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (5), and the mixed doubles championship with Muzeen Ismath, downing Zayac and Geoff Kirbyson 7-5, 2-6, 6-4.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 25, 2009 D9 (www.winnipegfreepress.com)

See also...
  Triple Crown for Waschuk at Manitoba Open
  Choi Earns Singles and Doubles Titles at Manitoba Open
  Waschuk, Ismath Claim Manitoba Open Mixed Championship
  Manitoba Open Tennis Championships

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Winnipeg, MB (Ken Wiebe, Sun Media)

Evann Waschuk scored a natural hat trick at the 2009 Manitoba Open Tennis Championships that were held over the weekend.

Waschuk, 16, defeated Alexa Zayac in straight sets 6-4, 6-3 in the women's final, then partnered with Erika Fridrik to win the women's doubles final. She also claimed the mixed doubles crown.

Waschuk and Fridrik defeated Anita Paskvalin and Clarissa Chen 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (6) in a three-set marathon that went the distance to claim women's crown.

To complete the sweep, Waschuk and Muzeen Ismath, 17, defeated Zayac and Geoff Kirbyson 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 in the mixed doubles final to become the youngest winning team in the history of the Manitoba Open Tennis Championships.

In the men's singles final, Henry Choi defeated Tony Larson 4-6, 6-4 and 6-4.

Choi and Jared Connell defeated David Jackson and Irfan Shamasdin in the men's doubles final.

The above article was reprinted from the Winnipeg Sun ((www.winnipegsun.com) Wednesday, July 22, 2009.

See also...
  Triple Crown for Waschuk at Manitoba Open
  Choi Earns Singles and Doubles Titles at Manitoba Open
  Waschuk, Ismath Claim Manitoba Open Mixed Championship
  Manitoba Open Tennis Championships

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Waschuk dispatched top seeded Alexa Zayac 6-4, 6-3 in the singles final and then teamed up with Erika Fridrik to earn a hard fought doubles victory, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(5) over Anita Paskvalin and Clarissa Chen. Trailing 5-1 in the deciding tiebreak, Waschuk and Fridrik reeled off 6 consecutive points for the dramatic win.

Waschuk will continue her busy summer as she represents Manitoba at the U16 Outdoor Junior Nationals in early August and at the Canada Summer Games August 15-22 in Prince Edward Island.

See also...
  News from around Manitoba - Tennis Champs
  Choi Earns Singles and Doubles Titles at Manitoba Open
  Waschuk, Ismath Claim Manitoba Open Mixed Championship
  Manitoba Open Tennis Championships

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Winnipeg, MB (TM) – Henry Choi of Vancouver outlasted Tony Larson of Minneapolis 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 to take home the Men’s Singles Championship at the Manitoba Open. Choi’s victory, in front of an enthusiastic crowd at the Winnipeg Lawn Tennis Club, ended an impressive run through the draw for the 7th seeded Larson.

Choi followed up his singles win by teaming with Winnipeg’s Jared Connell to earn a 7-5, 4-6 victory over David Jackson of Maryland and Ontario’s Irfan Shamasdin. The match ended after the first two sets were split as Jackson had to catch a flight back to the United States.

Tennis Manitoba would like to thank the Winnipeg Lawn Tennis Club and its great team of staff and volunteers who helped make the 104th Manitoba Open a big success.

See also...
  News from around Manitoba - Tennis Champs
  Triple Crown for Waschuk at Manitoba Open
  Waschuk, Ismath Claim Manitoba Open Mixed Championship
  Manitoba Open Tennis Championships

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Winnipeg, MB (TM) – Evann Waschuk and Muzeen Ismath became the youngest winning team in the history of the Manitoba Open Tennis Championships after a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 victory over Alexa Zayac and Geoff Kirbyson. Waschuk, 16, and Ismath, 17, took the long road in the tournament, winning every match in 3 sets.

Waschuk will be going for the Triple Crown on Sunday as she has earned a berth in the Women’s Singles and Doubles finals.

See also...
  News from around Manitoba - Tennis Champs
  Triple Crown for Waschuk at Manitoba Open
  Choi Earns Singles and Doubles Titles at Manitoba Open
  Manitoba Open Tennis Championships

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Winnipeg, MB (TM) – Alexia Cholakis continued her strong play this year, winning two titles at the 2009 Manitoba Junior Open. She defeated Kylie Waschuk in both the U14 and U16 Girls Singles finals. Cholakis will be representing Manitoba at the U14 Junior Nationals next month in Quebec and is also seeking a position on the Canada Games team.

The Manitoba Junior Open also featured six players from outside the province and this helped increase the level of competition. In fact three of our visitors reached the finals in their age group, led by Jerome Hood of Quebec, who outlasted Gage Despins of Texas 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 to capture the U14 Boys Singles Championship. Alexa Givelichian of Saskatoon also made her way to the final in the U12 Girls Singles division before falling 6-2, 6-2 to Lea Chowdhury.

The complete list of singles winners included the following:

U12 Girls: Lea Chowdhury def. Alexa Givelichian 6-2, 6-2

U14 Girls: Alexia Cholakis def. Kylie Waschuk 6-1, 6-2

U16 Girls: Alexia Cholakis def. Kylie Waschuk 6-4, 6-0

U18 Girls: Clarissa Chen def. Erika Fridrik 6-4, 1-6, 10-8

U12 Boys: Earinpreet Hirkewal def. Connor Davies 5-3, ret.

U14 Boys: Jerome Hood def. Gage Despins 4-6, 6-1, 6-4

For complete results and draws click here.
 

The next stop on the Junior Tour is the Sargent Park Junior Cup, which will be held September 9-13.

Good luck to all of the juniors who will be representing our province at the Outdoor Junior Nationals in August!

  Tennis Manitoba Junior Tour

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