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Youth shine on rookie tour

The Rogers Rookie Tour made its way to the Salmon Arm Tennis Club Saturday, highlighting local talent.
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Return to sender: Katrina Giandomenico returns a serve during the Rogers Roockie Tour Saturday at the Salmon Arm Tennis Club.

The Rogers Rookie Tour made its way to the Salmon Arm Tennis Club Saturday, highlighting local talent.

The event was open to players under 16, and is part of a a national program designed to bridge the gap between entry-level tennis and the provincial competitive junior circuit.

Twenty-six up-and-coming Salmon Arm tennis players took part in the day’s fun, which was organized by club pro Doug Rawson and president Marianne VanBuskirk.

Results are as follows:

• Under-8 category -  First – Matthew Bushell (Salmon Arm); second – Julia VanBuskirk (Salmon Arm); third – Jonathan Breugem (Salmon Arm).

• Under-10 – First – Hubert Theodore (Kamloops); second – Colin VanBuskirk (Salmon Arm); third – Leyton Boyd (Salmon Arm) tied with Katrina Giandomenico (Salmon Arm).

Under-12 – First – Matthew Sharratt (Salmon Arm); second – Courtney Bacon (Salmon Arm); third – Jackson Wark (Salmon Arm).

Under-14 – First - Trajan Boyd (Salmon Arm); second – Alyssa Pembleton (Vernon); third – Wallis Thomson (Salmon Arm).

 

Highlights:

• The youngest competitor, Jonathan Breugem, was five-years-old. This was his first tournament and he came in third place.

• Hubert Theodore (one of the top eight-year-old players in B.C.) won his age category, defeating everyone in his round-robin box and then defeating the U-10 box winner, Salmon Arm’s Colin VanBuskirk. Hubert will be a player to watch on the Rookie Tour circuit.

• Several players entered a category age group higher than their age and did very well, including Courtney Bacon, who came second in the Under-12s.

• Salmon Arm’s Wallis Thomson did extremely well in the Under-14 category, taking the difficult route of the “back-door consolation” bracket to come in third place in the Under-14 category.

There were more volunteers helping with the tournament than there were players.