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.