In addition to these individual placings, Cayman also gained some respectable placings in other age categories. Kali MacLean, 17, placed 7/8th in the girls U19, Shaelah Parchment Henry, 13, took 7/8th place in the girls U15, Pierce Terry (13) took 7/8th place in the boys U15, Isaiah Robinson (17) took 7/8th place in the boys U19, Christian Dubé (18) gained 9/14th place in the boys U19 and Neil McComb (12) took 9/13th place in the boys U13.
Gold medal winner Jace Jervis playing Guyana
Team spirit
Once the individual matches had been played, the teams then played for the final team placements. Chaloner said the team event threw up some better performance than the individual event for a few players.
“Perhaps because they were getting used to the courts, but also playing in a team environment can be helpful for some to find their best form,” he explained. “Unfortunately, Pierce Terry got injured in one of the first team matches, so we replaced him with one of our reserves, Neil McComb, who was thrown into the deep end as he was up against the top three finishers in the under 15 event and he is only 12.
“Nevertheless, he tried so hard against all of them and was very strong to chase the ball all over the court while very much up against it.”
Chaloner said he was extremely pleased with Neil’s faith and determination in this difficult situation.
“Jace Jervis managed to keep a clean sheet throughout the team event, too, but against Guyana’s Michael Alphonso (who he beat 3-1 in the individual semifinal) Jace found himself 2-1 down and really up against it,” Chaloner confirmed.
“The crowd was going crazy and his opponent was playing the game of his life, so it was a true testament to Jace to keep his cool and literally sneak out the win 11-9 in the fifth game!”
Cayman’s team eventually battled hard to take third place, beating the Trinidad team into fourth place, with Barbados gaining a dramatic overall win over Guyana. Hosts Guyana had been the junior CASA winners for the past 12years.
As well as the Cayman Islands contingent, teams from Barbados, Trinidad, Guyana, Bermuda and Jamaica participated in this important youth sports event. Players in the OECS team (other eastern Caribbean states) also participated in the individual competition.
Chaloner said that Cayman’s juniors owed a big thank you to their sponsors who offered some excellent support for the team, including Maples, Phoenix, Eric Cronier Ltd, Cayman National Bank and Carey Olsen.