The results of the Irwin, Jacobs, Green Junior Tennis tournament (IJG) during the weekend of27 and 28 January are as follows:

Johan de Wit beat Misha Hartmann in the Under 18 boys section in three tough sets with a score of 4/6, 6/3 and 6/4. In the Under 16 boys section Jean Erasmus beat Sean Ellis 6/4 and 6/3. JP de Klerk beat J Mathee 6/1, 6/1. The Under 12 boys section’s finals was very exciting with Windhoeker Francois Muller beating the coastal Under 12 champion Aiden Mautscke 6/1 and 6/3. Aiden and Francois then teamed up to beat Uno Hinda and Tuki Jacobs in the Under 12 doubles. These four boys are getting stronger and stronger with every tournament and will soon be a strong force in the Namibian junior teams when playing in South Africa. The Under 12 boys’ B section was won by Philip Ellis with runner-up A Smit. Smit and Ellis then also beat D. Seha and F. Bruckner in the doubles. Another tough match was the marathon match between Veja Hinda and J Palmhert in the boys Under 10 section. The score was 6/1, 4/6 and 6/1. The Under 10 B Section was won by Phillip Schultz. Calla Joone had a tough time against a very determined Michael Muller who beat Joone 6/2, 6/0 in the boys Under 14 section. Hannes Coetzee was the winner of the consolation prize.

The Under 12 girls section was won by J van Vuuren when she beat A de Waal. Eloise du Plooy beat Daniel de Villiers in the girls Under 10 section. D. Zimny was beaten by K Gressman with a score of 6/0 and 6/1. The Namibian Under 14 girls champion Meikke Woermann from Swakopmund beat Terri Olivier 6/2, 6/1. Meikke’s rival Bernie Olivier is currently suffering from an injury and could not play. There is a lot of strong talent coming through in the under 14 girls group and a lot is expected from them in terms of future performances. M van Zyl won the girls Under 14 consolation prize. Namibian junior players Riekie Honiball and Mariska Kuschke once again battled against each other with Mariska winning 7/6 and 7/6. Kuschke and Honiball then formed a doubles pair and beat L Joubert and I Jaggau 6/1, 6/1. Only one girl, Lana Joubert entered for the Under 18 section.

There are many young Namibian tennis players showing a lot of talent and we are looking forward to their progress. With 2005 junior stars like Jurgens Strydom, Herman Kuschke, Deon van Dyk, Elna de Villiers, Jeanine Davin and Rudolph Kuschke all out of junior competition Namibia needs young and upcoming stars. It was clear at this tournament that the talent is there and that we’ll soon see new tennis aces playing for Namibia.

The NTA wishes to thank the sponsors IJG for their investment in Namibian tennis.

Photo: Winners at this weekend’s IJG tennis tournament with Mr Tony Edmunds from IJG