UTP National Junior Tennis Team to compete in ITF event in Malaysia
Unified Tennis Philippines
(UTP) has formed its first-ever national junior tennis team which will represent
the country in several top tournaments sanctioned by the International Tennis
Federation (ITF) and the Asian Tennis Federation (ATF).
 |
From left to right: Team coach Karl Sta. Maria; UTP
co-founder Randy Villanueva; UTP general manager Jackie Tomacruz; team coach
Jun Tabura; national junior tennis team members Stephen Guia, Pherl Coderos, Denis
Bernardo, Anna De Myer and Marc Suson; UTP president Jean Henri Lhuillier; UTP
co-founder Gerard Maronilla; and team coach Roland Kraut.
The UTP national junior
tennis team is composed of 24 tennis players—top four boys and girls from the
Under-14, Under-16 and Under-18 categories which were selected based on UTP’s
national ranking system and over 125 UTP sanctioned tournaments all over the
country.
The U14 players are John David Velez, Brent Sigmond
Cortez, Rainier Angelo Selmar, Rupert Ohrelle Tortal, Macie Carlos, Alexa Joy
Milliam, Casey Padilla, and Alexandra Eala who bagged the top spot in the
prestigious Les Petit 14 and Under European Championships in France while the U16
players are Michael Francis Eala, Stephen Zion Guia, John David Velez, Laurenz
Quitara, Rovie Baulete, Anna Laura De Myer, Pherl Bless Cordero, and Denise
Bernardo.
Meanwhile, the U18
players are Manuel Balce III, Marc Nicole Suson, Arthur Craig Pantino who
clinched an international doubles title in the Hong Kong ITF Juniors
Tournament, Michael Francis Eala who made it to quarterfinal round at the China
Junior in Chengdu, Bea Francesca Acena, Elizabeth Abarquez, Melanie Faye Dizon,
and Mary Aubrey Calma.
Already, five players in
the national junior tennis team—Stephen Guia, Marc Suson, Pherl Coderos, Anna
De Myer, and Denis Bernardo—are competing in the 10th ITF Malacca
International Junior Championship in Malaysia.
“I am very thankful to
UTP for the chance to play in the ITF International Junior Championship in
Malaysia. This is my first time to compete abroad and I am very excited,”
shared Anna De Myer.
“I
would like to congratulate all of you for being the first team to represent our
organization in an international event. Not many people are given the chance to
play abroad. You guys earned the right to go, so take advantage of that and
seize the moment. This is your chance to excel,” said UTP president Jean Henri Lhuillier who is
also president and CEO of Cebuana Lhuillier.
"We understand the
importance of building a competent team to foster a shared national pride among
us Filipinos. We believe that our participation in events such as this will
fuel the passion and determination of the younger generation to be globally
competitive not only in tennis but also in other sports,” said Bobby Castro, president
and CEO of Palawan Pawnshop which supports the U14 boys’ and girls’ teams.
Palawan Pawnshop supports
the U14 boys’ and girls’ teams while Cebuana Lhuillier supports the U16 boys’
and girls’ teams and the U18 girls’ team A group of UTP volunteers, on the
other hand, is supporting the Under18 boys’ team. They are made up of former
junior tennis players, tennis enthusiasts, successful tennis coaches based
abroad and anonymous donors.
0 comments