South sweep corporate tennis

A terrific last gasp of exciting, fierce competition brought an end to the 2003 Corporate Tennis Champion-ships of the Hilton Trinidad Courts, Port-of-Spain on Sunday.

The title matches, contested among the North/East Zone and South Zone featured three UWI teams, and players from Petrotrin, Super Industrial Services (SIS), Trinidad and Tobago Institute of Technology (TTIT) and Sagicor. The South number one team featuring twins Farah and Sarah Chautilal of TTIT swept through the women’s division, beating the mother and daughter pair of Lindy Ann and Lee Ann Lingo 8-2 in their semifinal encounter. Sagicor, represented by North’s Jackie Bennett and Rani Ramsingh strolled into the final on a walk over as Hope Pollonais’ partner Melissa Mc Leod did not show for the semi-final. Though Bennet and Ramsingh were fresh having not played for the day, the Chautilal sisters were warm enough to rally to a 8-1 win and the national title. Lindy Ann and Lee Ann Lingo were an automatic third, while Pollonais and McLeod were fourth without playing a match on the evening. The Petrotrin and South number one team of former national player Brian Khan and Peter Moore, then crushed the North/ East and UWI team’s hopes, when they beat Dr Jonas Addae and Phillip Robinson 8-1 in the first men’s semi-final.

In the second semi-final, SIS pair of former Trinidad and Tobago tennis player Lennox Francis and the tournament’s youngest finalist Ronnie Jones, had to work for their place in the final as UWI’s top team made a strong bid to put at least one North/East team into the final. The two were for the most part well-matched, as Francis step-ped up his net game and Jones pulled his weight on the baseline against the best efforts of UWI and North/East’s Neil Lingo and Subramanian Prabhakaran, even-tually beating them 8-7 (11) after a thrilling tiebreak. The previous matches determined the complexion of the final, with Khan and Moore proceeding easily, and Francis and Jones struggling. The decider saw the obviously tired Francis/Jones pair coming up against a pumped up Khan/Moore unit, which assured that south would add the male prize to the female championship already won. In the battle between two high quality teams each featuring a coach and former national player, the determined play of Khan and Moore earned them the trophy. Lingo and Prabhakaran were third, after beating Addae and Robinson 8-6 in the third placed playoff.

The male and female winners, all from the South Zone, received a Challenge Trophy, two replicas and a pair of GSM mobile phones courtesy of TSTT. The runners-up won Kapok dinners courtesy Tiki Village and Bois Cano. The third-placed tandem received Rossi track suits from Three Star Sports and, the fourth-placed players National Flour Mills hampers. Corporate tennis goes next to Tobago from October 24-26, continuing the Tennis Federa-tion’s effort of spreading the game in the sister isle. Further information can be obtained from the Tennis Association of Trinidad and Tobago, at their 21 Taylor Street, Woodbrook office.