Kwesi Mugisa, Staff Reporter
Alliance Investment Management girls' Under-12 champion Shaddae Findlay (left) of Supreme Preparatory and boys' Under-12 champion Simon Levy (right) of Hillel pose with their trophies at the Eric Bell Tennis Centre on Tuesday. - Contributed
SIMON LEVY of Hillel and Shaddae Findlay of Supreme Preparatory outlasted the competition to be crowned boy and girl champions of the Alliance Investment Management All-island Under-12 tennis competition, which concluded at the Eric Bell Tennis Centre on Tuesday.
Levy turned back schoolmate Andrew Bicknell in a tense final, eventually prevailing 8-7, while Findlay put in a stellar shift to stun the diminutive but powerful Shea-Ann Kameka 8-0.
Kameka, ranked number one, had clipped number two seeded Findlay 8-7 in a hotly-contested Western regional final, but this time around Findlay looked a picture of concentration and determination as she sought to level the score.
In semi-final action, Findlay coolly held off a late charge from Hydel's Jesse Bicknell to take the match 6-2, while Kameka, who sports a double-fisted forehand, simply blasted her opponent, Mavada Langley, off the court for a 6-1 victory.
Big shots
Findlay was also presented with the best sportsmanship award for girls. In boys' semi-final play, top ranked Levy coasted by Sts Peter and Paul's Simon Oh on 6-1, while Bicknell squeezed by another schoolmate, Dylan Levy, 7-6. While the final was evenly contested, Levy seemed to come up with big shots at the right times to eventually get the better of the number two ranked Bicknell.
Other awards were presented to former national player Ryan Russell for being the boys' champion coach, while Andrew Smith received the girls' champion coach award.
James Cruise of Belair received the best sportsman award for boys.
More than 360 students participated in the month-long competition, which comprised of four regional finals.
This year's competition broke new ground as players were awarded points based on how far they progressed in the tournament.
