2017 BCSS SENIOR TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP
May 30, 2017 by admin
Filed under Provincial and Territorial News
AA CHAMPIONSHIP INFORMATION
Winners of Tennis AA Provincial Championships 2017:
Collingwood
2017 Championship Results
1. Collingwood
2. St. Michaels (SMUS)
3. Shawnigan Lake
4. Brentwood
5. West Point Grey
6. Southridge
7. Hugh McRoberts
8. Immaculata
9. Steveston London
10. South Kamloops
11. Prince of Wales
12. Holy Cross
In order to win the BC Tennis Championships you must win at least six of the eleven matches. For the coaches, it is often a chess match where they need to plan and strategize how best to reach the magic number of six wins. Over the past nine years, Collingwood’s opponents tried a number of tactics but always failed to outsmart Coach Al Rose or simply outplay his very deep teams.
This year, Coach Andy Wong has taken over from the retired Coach Rose. Coach Wong’s tactical planning turned out to be perfect as he stacked his A doubles teams and counted on them winning four games. He knew if this went to plan then the title would likely belong to Collingwood again as his star singles’ players were likely to win at least one of their matches. If they won both, Collingwood would reign again.
If SMUS somehow managed to win one of the singles matches, he was confident that Conor Robertson and Neeki Alavi could combine to win the mixed doubles if it came down to a 5-5 tie with one match to go. This is exactly what happened: Here is Coach Wong’s report:
Collingwood grinded out a 6-5 win in a battle against St. Michael’s University that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. The team knew they were going to be in tight match against the Island Champions.
Team captain Isaac Davies partnered up with Aleem Karmali to play doubles. In their first match, they came back from a 5-3 deficit to force a tie-break, where they carried their momentum to a 6-5 (7-5) victory. The early win proved to be crucial for the outcome. The Isaac and Aleem won their crossover match as well. With the wins, Isaac was a perfect 12-0 at provincials.
Nima Danaei and Imraan Karmali were in tough at the SMU boys, losing 6-1. Nima then paired up with Jack Mathisen in the crossover match. The boys forced several long deuce matches, but lost to the top SMU doubles team 6-2.
Grade 9 star, Conor Robertson, moved into the singles spot, where he took on SMU’s singles player. In a match that many thought was going to be close, Conor showed why he is one of the best young players in the province. He had nerves of steel, and quickly took over the match winning 6-0.
On the girls side, Maya Negris and Amy Young continued their fine form, winning each of their doubles matches 6-2 and 6-2. In their crossover match, they used the energy of the crowd to seal the victory.
Dina Rahimian played in spite suffering from the stomach flu. She partnered with Maisie Hastings. The pair were unable to catch up to the SMU girls quick start, losing 6-2. Amanda Finnie and Lauren Alderson played in the crossover match and were in tough against the top SMU pairing, losing 6-0.
Neeki Alavi played singles, and was in a tight match from the get-go. Both players were tentative in what seemed like a must-win for both team. Neeki’s chants of “come on” became infectious, and she battled off several match points to force a tie-break. SMU’s girl prevailed in a close 6-5 (7-5) win.
Neeki rebounded from the emotional loss, partnering up with Conor in the mixed doubles. With the teams squared at 5-5, Conor and Neeki were able to seal the victory with a 6-3 win. Neeki was an impressive 11-1 in the tournament, and she outscored her opponent in total games 71-9.
Conor was also 11-1 on the weekend, and his versatility in singles and doubles play was instrumental in helping the Cavs clinch the provincial championship. Conor, and partner Jack Mathisen were awarded for their top play in the tournament, being named the AA Doubles MVPs. The win marks the 10th straight provincial championship for Collingwood.
Yukoners help B.C. high school make provincial tennis final
Kyle Slavin/St. Michael’s University School
Whitehorse’s Ewan Halliday plays for St. Michael’s University School this spring. Halliday and fellow Yukoner Matthias Hoenisch helped St. Michael’s reach the final of the B.C. High School Tennis AA Championships over the weekend in Burnaby.
Never before had St. Michael’s University School made the final of the B.C. High School Tennis AA Championships.
Perhaps the Victoria private school just needed some Yukon talent.
Whitehorse’s Ewan Halliday and Matthias Hoenisch helped St. Michael’s post its best-ever finish at the championships May 25-27 in Burnaby.
“I think the whole team has to be proud,” said Halliday. “It’s such a great result for the school, something that’s never been done.”
The 20-player St. Michael’s team cruised through the first three rounds, outscoring opposing schools 27-6 in sets.
They then topped rival Vancouver Island school Shawnigan Lake 8-3 in the semifinals.
“We have a bitter rivalry with them and in the semifinals we won pretty easily,” said Halliday. “That felt good.”
St. Michaels then lost 6-5 in the final to multi-time defending champs Collingwood School from West Vancouver.
“We’re definitely a bit disappointed because we came so close and we feel like on another day we maybe we could have pulled off the win,” said Hoenisch. “But we’re really, really proud of ourselves and we got a pretty good reception back here at the school.”
Halliday played boys doubles with partner Nirov Mehta, an international student from Egypt, winning five out of eight matches.
Hoenisch played boys singles, and mixed doubles with partner Lucia Morales from Mexico. He went 3-2 in singles and 4-1 in doubles, with their only loss in the final against Collingwood. With the loss being their only of the entire season, Hoenisch and Morales won an award for best mixed doubles team.
With Halliday and Hoenisch, St. Michael’s also won the Vancouver Island high school championships for the first time at the end of April.
Halliday went undefeated to win the men’s singles title at the 2016 Yukon Tennis Championships, becoming the first junior player to win the title since Tennis Yukon was founded in 2007. He represented Yukon in tennis at the 2013 Canada Summer Games in Quebec and the 2015 Western Canada Summer Games in Alberta. Hoenisch also competed in tennis at the 2015 westerns.
Halliday, who is in Grade 10, and Hoenisch, who is in Grade 11, are both finishing their first year of study at St. Michael’s.
“It’s going really well. I really enjoy it,” said Hoenisch. “It’s a really good living experience and I’ve met a lot of international people, which has been really cool.”
“It’s awesome. We get the chance to play every day outside in the sun,” said Halliday.
Contact Tom Patrick at tomp@yukon-news.com
AAA CHAMPIONSHIP INFORMATION
Winners of Tennis AAA Provincial Championships2017:
Heritage Woods
2017 Championship Results
1. Heritage Woods
2. Sentinel
3. St. Georges/ Crofton House
4. Vancouver College/ LFA
5. Oak Bay
6. Carson Graham
7. Semiahmoo
8. Elgin Park
9. Claremont
10. McMath
11. Port Moody
12. Mt. Boucherie
Heritage Woods Players
Individual Award Winners
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AA: Girls Singles: Boys Singles: Girls Doubles: Boys Doubles: Mixed Doubles: |
AAA: Girls Singles: Boys Singles: Girls Doubles: Boys Doubles: Mixed Doubles: |
