This past Saturday the Stratford Tennis Club had over 80 junior tennis enthusiasts participating in a couple of the Club’s programs. The free Saturday morning progressive kids program had over 40 youngsters learning the basics of the game while 36 older kids took part in the first leg of the Royal LePage Hiller Realty Junior Grand Slam.
The “Australian Open” saw the players divided into 3 categories on the boys side and 2 categories on the girls side. The Girls Under 18 event was dominated by Sonja Andrekovic. Sonja’s steady play lead her to the championship, this time over rising star Nicolle Crowley. Nicolle, the youngest competitor in the girls draw was no match for Sonja on this day as Andrekovic cruised to an 8-0 victory. The Girls Under 16 final was won by Jennifer Jaeger who downed Jenna Lobsinger 8-3 for the title.
The Boys Under 18 winner was John Fischer. John took out Ciaran Buckley in the final 8-3 to take the gold medal. The Boys Under 14 event saw top calibre play all through the draw. The final was an one of the best matches of the day where Grant McPherson scored an 8-4 win over Luke Fischer. The consolation title in the Boys Under 14 category was won by Matt Vandewiel , defeating Ryan Lay 8-4 in the final match. The Boys Under 12 category saw close matches all day with several tie-breakers being needed to determine the winners. The championship match saw Stefan Andrekovic face Luke McCarroll, with Andrekovic taking the title with an 8-5 win.
The “French Open” will be the second leg of the Royal LePage Hiller Realty Junior Grand Slam and takes place at the Stratford Tennis Club on Saturday, June 16.
Picture 1 – (l to r) Sonja Andrekovic , girls under 18 champion ; Nicolle Crowley , girls under 18 runner up
Picture 2 – (l to r) Luke McCarroll , boys under 12 runner up ; Stefan Andrekovic , boys under 12 champion
Picture 1- (l to r) Ciaran Buckley , boys under 18 runner up ; John Fischer , boys under 18 champion
Picture 2 – (l to r) Matt Vandewiel , boys under 14 consolation champion; Ryan Lay, boys under 14 consolation runner up
Picture 1 – (l to r) Jennifer Jaeger , girls under 16 champion ; Jenna Lobsinger , girls under 16 runner up
Picture 2 – (l to r) Luke Fischer , boys under 14 runner up ; Grant McPherson , boys under 14 champion