Under-16 team out to silence big guns

The Wairarapa under-16 tennis team will be up against formidable opposition at their central districts quadrangular tournament at the Masterton Tennis Centre this weekend.
They face Taranaki, Wanganui and Manawatu, all of whom are likely to have nationally ranked players. Making up the boys' section for Wairarapa will be Wairarapa College duo Angus Preston and Wessel Burger, plus Rathkeale's Fraser Dymond and Angus Williams. In the girls' section will be four players who appear regularly at regional one inter-club level, Sade Atkinson, Anlo Van Deventer, Brooke Candy and Charlotte Mossman.
Other Wairarapa junior teams will also be involved in quad tourneys against the same opposition, but at different venues.
The boys' 10-years team of Trent Skeet, Will McMaster, Josh Tatham and Henry Phelps will travel to Fielding, the 12-years boys' and girls' team of Johnty Tatham, Guy Lewis, Landon Palmer, Brodie Palmer, Georgia Atkinson, Bridgette Mossman and Storm McKenna will play in Wanganui, while the 12-years boys' and girls' line-up of Mitchell Blackwood, Paddy Tatham, Harry Warren, Dushka Warren, Brooke Osborne and Tessa Laven will play in Manaia.
As interesting aspect of the Wairarapa selections is that three Tatham brothers will be representing their province in different age-groups and that the Atkinson sisters, Sade and Georgia, are both playing one age-group above their ages.
Meantime, Wairarapa's Marcus Daniell boosted his claim for a starting position in New Zealand's Davis Cup team to play Sri Lanka next month by beating top-ranked Kiwi Dan King-Turner in a futures tourney in Australia. Daniell won 7-6 (7-2), 6-3.
The result was a huge boost for Daniell as a singles exponent. In singles he is ranked 761 in the world, with King-Turner ranked 249.