 Photographer: None / Not Applicable
Date: 04 Jan 2013 |  Photographer: None / Not Applicable
Date: 04 Jan 2013 |  Photographer: None / Not Applicable
Date: 04 Jan 2013 |  Photographer: None / Not Applicable
Date: 04 Jan 2013 | | |
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| 04 Jan 2013 - Gene Ridgway - ITF Development Officer, Pacific Oceania | |
| Success for ITF Pacific Oceania team in New Zealand |
The Pacific team recorded unmatched success on the Pacific Oceania ITF/OTF 12 & under team tour in New Zealand. The team made history by winning both the boys’ and girls’ 12 & under singles events in Hamilton, the boys singles’ and boys’ doubles in Auckland and the girls’ doubles at both tournaments.
The team competed in three tournaments with a two-day team challenge against an Auckland tennis team in between tournaments ensuring all of the players competed in over 40 matches across the 18-day tour.
Larry Magalasin (ASA) and Ruby Coffin (FIJ) got the tour off to a winning start after becoming the champions of the 12 & under singles events at the Waikato Christmas Tournament in Hamilton. Coffin and teammate Emma Maucotel (VAN) then defeated the other Pacific girls’ team of Carol Lee and Isabel Heras, from Northern Mariana Islands, to win the girls’ doubles title.
The Pacific Challenge, organised by former New Zealand Davis Cup player and Tennis Auckland Regional Performance coach James Greenhalgh provided excellent singles, doubles and mixed doubles matches for two days at the Scrabro Tennis Centre in Auckland. Every match won earned one point for the team and at the end of play on the second day the Pacific team had a decisive 19 matches to 13 winning margin against players ranked in the top of their age group in the country.
The Auckland Tennis Christmas Tournament put the players on the court for a further four days of round-robin match play leading in to knock out play-offs. The Pacific team showed their competitive ability by winning the tournament with Reynald Taaroa (TAH) defeating Magalasin in the final of the boys’ 12 & under singles while Coffin and Lee both lost in the semifinals of the girls’ singles event. To top it off, the boys’ and girls’ doubles finals comprised solely Pacific players resulting in victory for Harley Cronin (SAM) and Magalasin in the boys’ and Coffin and Lee in the girls’ competition.
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