Saturday 21 September 2013

Kylar Continues Dominant Run

Kevin Kylar shown here in action at the 2013 Manshield
Tennis Futures at Sargent Park Tennis Garden in Winnipeg.
 
By Geoff Kirbyson

Kevin Kylar cemented his status as the No. 1-ranked tennis player in Manitoba with a dominating run through the field at the Tuxedo Open.

The 19-year-old lost just 10 games in four matches in securing the men’s open title, highlighted by a 6-1, 6-3 victory over unseeded Stephen Dubienski on Sept. 15.

The 30-year-old Dubienski, who recently moved back to Winnipeg after spending several years in Vancouver, knocked off a pair of seeded players en route to the final – No. 2 Roland Burrell in the quarters and No. 4 Shane Nicholls in the semis.

Kylie Waschuk made short work of the women’s field, too, defeating Lori Mann 6-1, 6-0 in the women’s final.

In men’s doubles action, No. 2 seeds Jared Connell and Roland Burrell defeated the No. 1-ranked duo of Ray Daumler and Peter Eck, 6-4, 3-6 and 10-4 in the third set super tie break.

Complete listing of 2013 Tuxedo Open results are available at tennismanitoba.com.

Tuesday 17 September 2013

2013-14 Provincial Tennis Team

Team Manitoba tennis at the 2013 Canada Summer Games,
Shrebrooke, Quebec.

Tennis Manitoba has announced details of the 2013-14 Provincial & National Training Center Program. The 28 week program includes weekly on court sessions, strength and conditioning training, quarterly fitness testing and out of province competition.

Team tryouts are scheduled for 4 - 7 p.m., September 28, 2013. Competitive junior tennis players interested in participating in the team tryouts, are asked to register prior to 12 noon, Friday, September 27th. To access the tryout registration form, click here.

The following is an overview of the program:

1. Coaching Staff
  • Head Coach - Jared Connell
  • Assistant Coach - Robert Kennedy
  • Assistant Coach - Marlon Goldburn
2. Open Tryout
  • An open tryout for is scheduled for 4 - 7 p.m., Saturday, September 28 at Tuxedo Tennis Club for junior tennis players (boys and girls) in the U12 to to U18 age categories.
  • In the event of inclement weather, please meet at Taylor Tennis Club.
  • There is no fee for the tryout session.
3. Team Selection Criteria
  • Team members will be selected by the coaching staff, with selection notifications made by September 30th.
  • Selections will be based on past tournament performances / results, program commitment, physical competencies, match play and tennis skills.
4. Program Dates
  • Session 1: 8 weeks, week of Sept 30 - Dec 9, 2013
  • Session 2: 10 weeks, week of Jan 6 - Mar 24, 2014
  • Session 3: 10weeks, week of Mar 31 - Jun 9, 2014
5. Program Training
  • On court tennis: 1day per week, 2 hours
  • On court fitness: 1 day per week, 1 hour (following tennis session)
  • Strength and conditioning: 1 day per week, 1 hour
  • Fitness testing: 5 tests throughout program
  • Training session days will be separated by age group / ability level
  • Training days to be announced
6. Program Travel
  • Tournament 1: Edmonton, AB, Nov 1 - 3, 2013
  • Tournament 2: Saskatoon,SK, Nov 30 - 31, 2013
  • Tournament 3: Edmonton, AB, Feb 28 - Mar 2, 2014
  • Tournament 4: Prairie Regionals, Saskatoon,SK, dates TBD (mid-March)
7. Program Apparel
  • Each team member will receive a tracksuit, 2 training shirts
8. Program Fee
  • Costs are currently being finalized. An approximate fee of $1,600 per player for the 28 weeks. The program fee does not include travel expenses.
9. Player Agreement
  • Team members are required to adhered to a player agreement, which is to be signed by the player, parent / guardian, and personal coach. Included in the player agreement will be competition schedules that include participation in all regional and national championships that the player qualifies for in their respective age group, fitness programs / testings and results, technical improvements, training attitudes and behaviour. Periodic evaluations will be held throughout the program.
  • Program participants will be chosen on the above criteria. There are limited number of team spots available in each age group. Players are selected to a particular age category based on their date of birth and/or ability. Each group will consist of a combination of boys and girls.
10. Code of Conduct
  • All team members are required to sign a Tennis Manitoba Code of Conduct agreement.

Wednesday 4 September 2013

Twitter recap: Raonic Trends in Winnipeg

On Monday evening after a five-hour rain delay pushed back the fourth-round U.S. Open match between Milos Raonic and Richard Gasquet to a much smaller court, TSN picked up the TV coverage without providing commentary.

Die hard Winnipeg tennis fans took to Twitter to voice their own views on the thrilling match that saw the Canadian go down in a hard-fought battle to the Frenchman 6-7(4), 7-6(4), 2-6, 7-6(9), 7-5.


See also: Milos Raonic's loss at the U.S. Open: social media condolences

Tuesday 3 September 2013

Manitoba Juniors Take on Canada's Best

Kylie Waschuk made it to the round of 16 at the Under 18
Rogers Outdoor Junior Nationals, losing out to the no. 1-seeded
player, Gloria Liang from Ontario. (Photo: Kristin Muller)

Five of Manitoba's top junior tennis players qualified to play at the 2013 Rogers Junior Outdoor National Championships this past August, for an opportunity to compete with the best junior players in Canada.

For Sabrina Alano (Under 12), Jennifer Wang (Under 14), and Shrey Gupta (Under 16), it was their first appearance at the junior nationals.

Just prior to the junior nationals, Wang and Gupta, along with Kylie Waschuk (Under 18), made a successful run at the 2013 Canada Summer Games in Sherbrooke, Quebec, tying an all-time best Team Manitoba tennis result by placing fifth.

David Krowiak (Under 14) joined Wang at the Under 14 nationals, making it the third time he has competed at a national level.

There are eight junior national tournaments a year; one indoor and one outdoor for each of the Under 12, Under 14, Under 16 and Under 18 age categories. The outdoor junior nationals were held in Mississauga, Ontario, and Mont Tremblant, Quebec.

Tennis Canada often uses the results from the junior nationals to determine which players represent Canada at some of the big international events like the Junior Davis Cup, Junior Fed Cup and World Junior Tennis competitions.

Manitoba juniors that participated at the junior nationals were selected from results at Tennis Manitoba Junior Tour and Prairie Regional qualifying events. For additional information on competitive junior tennis in Manitoba, please visit www.tennismanitoba.com.

See also:
> 2013 Rogers Outdoor Junior Nationals photos
> Looking for gold at Mont-Tremblant