Sanguinetti lauds All-Island High School Tennis Championships
Tournament Director David Sanguinetti says the return of the All-Island High School Tennis Championships was a huge success for Tennis Jamaica.
The tournament, which ran from November 22-24, which was held at the Eric Bell Tennis Centre, featured 17 high schools across the island, fielding 41 combined teams in singles and doubles and approximately 250 participants. Players competed in the Under-14, Under-16, and Under-19 categories.
“It [tournament] came back in a big way because more schools entered, including schools for the first time and schools that had not entered in the last 20 to 25 years,” Sanguinetti told the Jamaica Observer.
“Normally we would have like 30 teams enter, but this time around it was 41 teams spread over the three categories, which is great for the sport. Schools such as York Castle, Fairfield, Ewrin, and Munro, who was a powerhouse in years gone by.”
Campion College won the Under-19 boys’ division by defeating York Castle 3-2 in the final, while American International School of Kingston (AISK) defeated Montego Bay High School 3-1 in the Under-19 girls’ division.
In the Under-16 category, Wolmer’s Boys’ beat Munro 3-1 in the boy’s category and Immaculate Conception High whipped STATHS 3-0 in the girls’ category.
Hillel defeated Jamaica College 3-2 in the Under-14 boys’ tournament final, while Mount Alvernia defeated Immaculate Conception High 3-0 in the Under-14 girls’ tournament final.
“We have different schools winning all the categories, which speaks well for the development of tennis in the country,” Sanguinetti said. “Because of the amount of schools entered, we had to use the lights that were recently installed at Tennis Jamaica to complete the fixture.”
Sanguinetti revealed that the next tournament for high school players, The Best of the Best, will be in March next year.
“This is a different format because this all-island tournament is an age group-based event, whereas the other event is one team per school, your best team, and that’s why it is called The Best of the Best. It will be a Division 1 and a Division 2 to give the weaker schools a chance to play among themselves,” he said.
