Sandy, Leacock go for IBM titles

RAYE-ANN Sandy copped the Girls’ Under-14 singles crown on the penultimate day of the IBM-sponsored International Tennis Federation (ITF) Junior Circuit Tennis Tournament yesterday. At the Jean Pierre Complex, Mucurapo, local lass Sandy overcame a first set deficit to trounce Miyolou Evertsz of the Netherland Antilles 2-6, 6-2, 6-0.

Earlier in the day, at the PSA Tennis Facility, St James, Sandy crushed another Netherland Antilles representative —  Fausthyara Pietersz 6-1, 6-2 while Evertsz cruised past Trinidad and Tobago’s Cheyenne Lutchman 6-3, 6-3. The Boys’ Under-14 singles final will be an all-TT affair as Liam Gomez will meet Jerome Branker today. In yesterday’s semis at PSA, Gomez strolled past David Cathalina of the Netherland Antilles 6-1, 6-3 while Branker overcame his countryman Seve Day 6-4, 6-4. And Yolande Leacock can become the third national player to win her division when she meets American Ekaterina Rybakova in today’s final at Mucurapo.

Leacock required a deciding third set to get the better of Ukraine’s Iryna Matichyk 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 while Rybakova blanked Victoria Brook of Great Britain 6-2, 6-2. Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania and Gian Hodgson of Aruba will face off today for the Boys’ Under-18 singles trophy. Berankis battled back from a set down to defeat Jamaican Dominic Pagon 6-7 (7-0), 6-0, 6-3 while Hodgson edged Rasid Winkler of the Antilles 7-5, 7-5. Today’s singles finals will be contested at Mucurapo from 9 am while the closing ceremony will take place at the PSA Facility from 3 pm.