Players aged from 6 to 10 years from Devon & Cornwall competed all winter chasing the top places on the Whirlwind Mini Tour leaderboard to reach the Grand Finals and the chance of being crowned Masters Champion!
The 8 & Under red ball event gave some of the 14 players their first taste of competing against players from outside their county and it was great to see how well everyone played and with such great spirit. After many close matches in the box rounds players from Devon dominated the semi-finals. Tarka’s Lincoln Boden was drawn against Exmouth’s Alex Roper with Tarka player Eric Lorimer and Guy Stone from Nuffield Health Devonshire in the other semi. Tarka club-mates Lincoln and Eric were the stronger on the day and enjoyed a close final with Eric eventually prevailing. Congratulations to Eric Lorimer, the 8 & Under Champion.
The 8 & Under Whirlwind Mini Tour leaderboard champions were: Devon – Lincoln Boden (Tarka Tennis Centre), Cornwall – Blake Silver (Heron Newquay).
In the 9 & Under orange ball event the semi finals were an even split for Devon and Cornwall with both Devon’s semi finalists being girls and club-mates at Exmouth! Evie Fitzhenry was successful over Freddie Millard from Penzance but Isabelle Marks found St Austell’s Reeve Seddon too strong. This led to a great final between Evie and Reeve which went his way. Congratulations to Reeve Seddon, the 9 & Under Champion.
The 9 & Under Whirlwind Mini Tour leaderboard champions were: Devon – Euan Greenslade (Tarka), Cornwall – Reeve Seddon (St Austell).
In the 10 & Under green ball event all 16 players showed great commitment and sportsmanship. The semi- finalists were Devon’s Maya Ichim who faced Rodrigo Anzules-Argote from Ilfracombe and Cornwall’s Joss Bailey from Bodmin took on Jacob Blackler-Rose from Nuffield Health Devonshire. On the day, Jacob and Rodrigo were the stronger and went on to contest the final. Jacob was on fire and took the title. Congratulations to Jacob, the 10 & Under champion.
The 10 & Under Whirlwind Mini Tour leaderboard champions were: Devon – Shared by Rodrigo Anzules-Argote (Ilfracombe) and Jacob Blackler-Rose (Nuffield Devonshire), Cornwall – Joss Bailey (Bodmin).
Trophies and prizes were presented by Chris Bawden, Devon Tennis County Co-ordinator, who congratulated the players on their great spirit and sportsmanship and expressed Devon Tennis and Tennis Cornwall’s gratitude for Whirlwind Sport’s continued support which has enabled so many young players to experience competition in a friendly environment, make new friends and be enthused by the sport.
Over 180 children took part in the Whirlwind Mini Tour Circuit this season which has given these youngsters from throughout Devon and Cornwall the opportunity to develop their game.