Tennis: Bay of Plenty under-12s take top honours

The Bay of Plenty Under-12 tennis team won the Intra Regional Tennis Tournament. Photo / Supplied

A group of young local tennis players have shown their potential by beating their under-12 rivals.

Every year Waikato, Western Bay, Bay of Plenty (Rotorua and Whakatāne) and Tennis Eastern (Hawke's Bay and Poverty Bay) contest the Intra Regional Competition. It is played in age groups 10 and under, 12 and under, 14 and under, 16 and under and 18 and under.

The 12s play for the Master Carvers Cup and it had been 11 years since Bay of Plenty last won it, but this year the boys and girls from Rotorua and Whakatāne claimed first place, on their home courts at the Rotorua Tennis Club.

The team was made up of Scarlett Dowland, Sophie Webber, Zeeah Waerea-Tamai, Sophie Twist, Tom Weston, Hayden Martin, Tom Yetsenga and Daniel Duyvesteyn.

Tennis Bay of Plenty junior co-ordinator Debra Dowland said the girls won all of their games, led by Scarlett and Sophie who had both played for the Waikato Bays regional team that competed in the National Teams event held in Christchurch in January.

"We then needed to win at least one of the boys' matches in each of the three ties. Several of the matches came down to a super tiebreaker decider.

"The team showed real tenacity, grit and level headedness to take out several critical matches. We won the ties 7-5 against Western Bay, 9-3 against Waikato and 8-4 against Tennis Eastern.

"The team all showed great sportsmanship. All of these team members are talented sports girls and boys in a wide range of sports. The skills they bring to and take from tennis help them in other sports and life," Dowland said.

She said coach Justin Megraw has been working hard with the juniors at the Rotorua Tennis Club and with regional coaching squads for the last two years and his experience and coaching approach was showing.

"The team delighted in showing him their appreciation after the prize giving. At the other age group levels we finished third in the 18s, 16s and 14s and fourth in the 10s."