Youth?won over experience when the curtain came down on the annual Christopher Howitt Tennis Championship last weekend at the Ocean View courts.
Seanon Williams ended Bernard Frost’s spectacular run with a 6-1, 6-4 victory in the final to take the men’s open title.
Williams, however, lost out in the doubles as he and partner Duncan Evanson fell to the Moseley brothers, Ryan and Russell, 7-6, 6-3.
In seniors’ action, Dr Raymond Forde lost in two finals. In the men’s over-35, he went down to John Chandler 4-6, 6-7, and in the men’s over-45 he fell to George Grant 4-6, 7-6, 5-10.
Forde and Grant teamed up to take the over-45 doubles over Sydney Lopez and Michael Tinge, 6-4, 7-6.
Melena Lopez and Anna Lee Pope went under in the women’s open doubles final to Richele LeSaldo and Alyssa Fuentes 6-2, 6-1.
It was one of several finals Lopez contested.
She won the under-16 singles crown by defeating her doubles partner Samiya Dottin.
Lopez and Dottin won the under-16 doubles, and Lopez partnered with Janice Ayuen to take the under-18 girls’ doubles, beating Jaimie Lewis and Kayla Frost.
Lopez also took Alyssa Fuentes to three sets in the women’s open before going down 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.
She also lost to Kina Marshall in the under-18 girls’ final, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.
Ajani King won the under-14 title, beating Gavin Hutchinson 6-4, 6-3, and was even more impressive in the under-16 final, triumphing over Simon Lewis 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.
However, a weary King lost to Shem Alexis in the boys’ under-18 final in straight sets 6-4, 6-1.
Donna Gibbs defeated Marie Jean Symmonds 6-2, 6-0 to take the women’s over-35 title.
She also partnered with Sue Rogers to beat Symonds and Mari Ann Gonsalves 6-4, 7-5 in the over-35 doubles.
This year saw the inclusion of the new red, orange and green dot ball competition in the 10-and-under division.
Winners included Aren Spencer (red), Gizelle Richards and Kyle Griffith (orange), and Jordan Every and Meaghan Best (green).
The boys’ under-12 title was won by Andrew Gill who defeated Every 8-2 in the final, while Timia Thornhill was the girls’ under-12 round robin winner.
Symphony Griffith won the girls’ under-14 final 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 from Jaimie Lewis, and also took the doubles title with partner Ilana Blackwood over Lewis and Kayla Frost. (PR/EZS)
