Home|Sports|BLTA’s 2022 Fidelity Senior Nationals wraps upSports
The Nassau GuardianSend an emailOctober 26, 2022 147 1 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email
After a week of great competition, the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association (BLTA) concluded its 2022 Fidelity Senior Nationals on Sunday in grand fashion at the National Tennis Center. The finalists took to the courts all vying to be crowned national champions. Both men and women participated in singles and doubles categories in their various age divisions.
The title sponsor of the event was Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) Limited.
Cory Francis had a busy weekend going after three titles. He won two and was the runner-up in the other one. He won the men’s 55 when he took down Ken Kerr. He and Stephen Thompson teamed up to win the men’s doubles 55 division. They won against Larry Rolle and Patrick Fernander. The duo could not replicate their play in the men’s doubles 35, as they fell to the champions, Ivan Hooper and Alexander Murbach.
Francis was the only participant in the tournament to advance to three finals.
Tara Mactaggart played her way to win two titles. The first one she won was with Neil Mactaggart in the mixed doubles. They took down Chigoze Ijeoma and Marsha Williams. Tara Mactaggart won the women’s doubles with Sarah Beukes. They won against Sh’Ron Saunders and Ellie Brown.
The women’s 35 division was won by Sh’Ron Saunders, who defeated Esther Newton. The men’s 35 division saw Alexander Murbach taking down Bjorn Ferguson.
Hooper won the men’s 45 division after winning against Shaun Mahelis.
The sportsmanship trophies for both male and female were determined by the players themselves and were awarded based on the highest vote-getters in the tournament. Fernander and Newton captured the male and female awards respectively.
BLTA President Perry Newton expressed his gratitude to Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) Limited for its sponsorship and Fidelity Chief Executive Officer Gowon Bowe for assisting with the trophy presentations. He also extended thanks to those who worked hard to ensure the tournament was a success, including Esther Newton, BLTA Vice-President Chilean Burrows, Darnette Weir, Mickey Williams and Francis.
This year, the tournament was named in honor of Wesley Rolle, for his contribution to the development of tennis in The Bahamas. His son, Willis Rolle accepted an award on behalf of his father.