Three players who have represented Great Britain in the junior event at the World Team Cup are among 13 athletes announced today to represent England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales next week at the Sainsbury’s School Games in Manchester.
Kent’s 18-year-old Nick Smelt, who made his international debut at the World Team Cup in the Netherlands in 2013, and Staffordshire 17-year-old Josh Cooper, who represented Great Britain for the first time at this year’s World Team Cup in Turkey, are among six players named in the England team for the Manchester event where wheelchair tennis will make its debut.
Thirteen-year-old Edinburgh player Ruairi Logan, who joined Cooper in this year’s World Team Cup squad in Turkey, has his sights on the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. Logan will represent Scotland in Manchester next week alongside Glasgow’s Leo Macleod, who will make his competition debut at the Sainsbury's 2015 School Games.
Ross Gourley has already achieved success in both wheelchair tennis and wheelchair basketball and is one of two players who will represent Northern Ireland in Manchester. A member of Belfast’s Spokes in Motion Tennis Club, Gourley has previously won the junior singles and doubles the Belfast Open Wheelchair Tennis Development Series. Twelve-year-old Nathan McCabe joins Gourley in the Northern Ireland team and will make his competitive wheelchair tennis debut. McCabe hopes to emulate the success of his mum, who medalled in wheelchair track racing at the Paralympic Games in Atlanta in 1996 and again in Sydney in 2000.
Loughborough College student Ben Jones is one of three players who will play wheelchair tennis for Wales at the Sainsbury’s School Games. The 19-year-old has previously competed in para-triathlon and wheelchair basketball and despite being a relative newcomer to wheelchair tennis, in July he was a finalist in the Novice singles and semi-finalist in the novice doubles at the Shrewsbury Open Development Series.
Each squad has a captain to draw inspiration from, as well as London 2012 Paralympian and multiple World Team Cup medallist Louise Hunt, who has been named as the athlete mentor for wheelchair tennis for the Sainsbury’s School Games.
The England squad captain is former Great Britain World Team Cup player Tony Knappett, while Beijing 2008 Paralympian and World Team Cup medallist Kevin Simpson will captain the Scotland squad. Northern Ireland captain Ivor Jess has also represented Ireland at the World Team Cup. Dave Liddiard will captain the Wales squad in Manchester.
Wheelchair Tennis at the Sainsbury’s School Games takes places at Manchester Regional Tennis Centre from Friday 4th to Sunday 6th September.
Wheelchair tennis squads:
England – Captain:: Tony Knappett
George Jeremiah
George Davies
Josh Cooper
Lewis Evans
Nathanial Lowe-Cordingley
Nicholas Smelt
Northern Ireland – Captain: Ivor Jess
Nathan McCabe
Ross Gourley
Scotland – Captain: Kevin Simpson
Leo Macleod
Ruairi Logan
Wales – Captain: Dave Liddiard
Ben Jones
Ben Johnson-Rolfe
Jack Chapman
Share