JAMAICA captured the overall Under-12 team title at the 2016 Caribbean and Central America Trans Confederation (COTECC) Grand Slam Development Tennis Team Championships held over seven days between August 20-28 in Curacao.

The Jamaican boys’ teams topped their section ahead of Trinidad and Tobago and Aruba, while Trinidad and Tobago won the girls’ section ahead of Jamaica. Eventually, Trinidad and Tobago won the boys’ section 2-1 ahead of Jamaica, but the Jamaican girls turned the tables on the two-island republic with a similar 2-1 victory.

Daniel Azar and Keyondre Clarke comprised the boys’ team, while the girls’ team was Selena Bird and Abigail Perdue.

As a result of finishing in the top three in both the boys’ and girls’ sections, the Jamaicans have also qualified for the masters championships team events to be held in Mexico in November. Trinidad and Tobago and Aruba have also qualified.

Llockett McGregor, who accompanied the Jamaican team as manager/coach, thought the players did extremely well, though the competition was stiff and challenging.

“The boys lost against Trinidad 1-2 but the girls avenged that defeat with a 2-1 win over Trinidad to lift the title,” McGregor said.

McGregor said the Masters Team Event Tennis Championships is expected to be much tougher in November as the best of the under-12 boys and girls from the Caribbean and Central American will be in action.

“The players are expected to do their best in what promises to be the biggest tennis championships played in this region. It should be quite interesting when the teams are placed in groups to decide who goes through to the next stage,” said McGregor.

Apart from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Aruba, a total off 20 Caribbean countries participated in this championships, with the others being Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, US Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Haiti, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Turks and Caicos Islands, and host Curacao.