Three players will represent Jamaica at the annual Central American and Caribbean Confederation (COTECC) Under-12 Boys Tennis Championship which begins today in the Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic.

The players — Daniel Azar, Matthew James and Delano Reeves, along with coach, Matthew Rodriguez — left the island yesterday.

Defending champions in both the boys and girls classes are Mexico, while Jamaica finished way back in eighth position.

Eight countries, including the host nation, will take part with the top-two from each group moving on to the final round to be played in Mexico.

Other participating countries are Bahamas, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Puerto Rico, Cuba and Haiti,

Jamaica coach Rodriguez is expecting his boys to “hold their own”.

“I am confident the players will do well as they have been playing in a number of local championships for the past two weeks and should be able to hold their own,” he said.

He added that the team tie will be two singles and one doubles, and they have to work for every point to get the better of their opponents.

“Jamaica will encounter a number of top players in this 12 and under age-group as they have been playing in many more tournaments than our local players, and will face different style of players,” added Rodriguez.

Azar is coming off two victories in the Under-14 and Under-12 Access Financial Services All-Jamaica Junior championships where he beat national teammate Reeves in the Under-12 final.

James is coming off a win in the 2017 Gaspro Open Junior Tennis Championship beating Arjan Trehan in the final.