Eight of Border’s best talents set to realise their dreams on court
It was a mixed interprovincial long weekend for the Eastern Cape (Border) age group teams, while individuals stood out as eight players were selected as members or reserves for the South African School age group teams ahead of their overseas tours later this year.
The SA U13 team will be heading to the USA, while the U15 and U19 teams will be heading to Great Britain.
In the U19 girls division Dana Philips and Kaylin Bower were selected, while Anja DeBeer was picked as a reserve, with Philips saying that one of her goals this year was to be a part of the South African Schools team, and she is humbled and appreciative to be selected for it.
She is currently in matric and her focus is on completing her exams before moving on to play Varsity Tennis overseas.
On the U15 front Joseph Townes was selected for the boys along with Lente Taljaart for the girls, while Devina Pillay was named as a reserve, with Townes admitting it was his goal was to make the South African team, and his success is attributed to staying calm and focused.
For the U13s Erin Peters and Nikhil Naidoo were both picked as reserves, with Peters adding that she could not believe it and was shocked but believes that her dedication and hard work earned her a spot in the team.
“As a result of our fighting spirit, teamwork and hard work on and off the court, Tennis Eastern Cape is glad and proud to announce that the following players were selected to be part of the South African Schools Team to tour Britain and the United States of America later this year,” said Tennis Eastern Cape president Neil Naidoo.
“All the players look forward to this trip and hope to learn, and of course to meet some of their stars and idols like Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal.
“We know that given the opportunity, all these players will be a force to reckon with and will succeed because of their tenacity and dedication.”
At the past weekend’s National Primary and High schools Interprovincial tennis tournaments held in Bloemfontein and Pretoria respectively, the two Eastern Cape teams participating competed under the banner of Eastern Cape (Old Border) and Eastern Cape Elephants (Old Eastern Province).
The EC U13 tennis team, which participated in Bloemfontein, finished 10th, while the Elephants finished 12th.
The EC’s early losses were against KwaZulu-Natal, Free State and Northern Cape, but they bounced back well to be victorious against Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal B.
In the U15 division the EC team finished 11th, beating Northern Cape and Gauteng East, and went down in close matches against Eden, Zimbabwe and the Cavaliers, while the Elephants finished eighth.
The EC U19 team came up against top provinces like Gauteng North, Gauteng Central, Eden, Limpopo and local rivals the Elephants.
Despite the losses, most of these matches were closely fought and only a few points separated them. They beat North West 27-21, while the Elephants finished 15th.