Tortola, British Virgin Islands, December 8, 2009 –  Monday, December 7th marked the official opening of the FirstCaribbean International Bank BVI Tennis Championships 2009.  The fifth annual event was in full swing at the Tortola Sports Club (TSC) when Mark Chapman, President of the Club, made his brief remarks to the players and supporters gathered at the Clubhouse that evening.

Ken Dawson, transactional banking manager for FirstCaribbean International Bank, was also present at last night’s opening and was invited to say a few words. Mr Dawson expressed the Banks’ pleasure at sponsoring the event. He went on to commend the players on their participation in the tournament and encouraged them to enjoy their matches in good, competitive spirit.

The first round of the Championship matches had to be scheduled to start on Sunday December 6, a day early, to accommodate the number of players registered in the men’s division. The second round for the men’s division Championship title and Plate quarterfinals were played on Monday.

Contenders for the men’s division Championship will play their quarterfinal matches on Wednesday and the semi-finals will take place on Thursday. Winners of the Plate quarterfinals will go on to play the semi-finals on Friday.

The second round and semi-final matches for the ladies’ Championship and Plate and the junior division games will take place on Wednesday and Thursday.

Mixed doubles will start their matches on Wednesday with the Plate semi-finals taking place on Thursday. The mixed doubles’ Championship semi-finals are set for Friday.

The finals for all divisions’ Plate and Championship titles will take place on Saturday.

Matches start at 5.30pm and supporters are encouraged to come and watch the exciting games slated for the remainder of the week. The TSC is offering $5 dinner specials nightly and has also teamed up with FirstCaribbean to give away daily door prizes valued at $40. Dustin Molver was the first night’s winner of the daily draw for a personal coaching session in tennis, squash or physical conditioning.

Results
In the first round of the men’s division, young, newcomer Christopher Clatworthy beat Alberto Ovalies 6-2, 6-3. Humphry Leue beat Sherwin Medoc 6-1, 6-1. Gregg Boyd beat Atilla Takeli 6-1.6-0. Stan Sexton beat Peter Morris 7-5, 6-3. Marc Downing beat Todd VanSickle. Curtis Davies beat Michael Burns, 7-5, 6-4. Walter Garimort beat Peter Clatworthy 6-2, 6-3 and Clive Gibbons beat Keith Thomas 6-2, 6-3.

In the second round of the men’s division, Dion Anselm beat Christopher Clatworthy 6-0, 6-1and will go on to meet Anthony Shillingford who beat Humphry Leue 6-1, 6-2. Gregg Boyd beat Peter Poole 6-2, 6-3 and will face Ken Adamson who defeated Stan Sexton 6-0, 6-0.  John Callender won his match against Marc Downing 6-0, 6-0 and will play Curtis Davies who, in a close match, defeated Salvador Leanaming 6-7, 6-3 (7-4).  Mark McDonald won against Walter Garimort 6-0,6-0 and will play Deane Fonseca who beat Clive Gibbons 6-1, 6-3.  

The defeated players of the second round of the men’s Championships will play against each other for the Special Plate on Thursday and Friday.

In the quarterfinals of the men’s division, Sherwin Medoc beat Alberto Ovalies 6-3, 6-1 and will play against Atilla Takeli who won his match against Peter Morris 7-5, 6-0. Michael Burns beat Todd VanSickle 6-1, 6-0 and will play against Peter Clatworthy.

Media contact:
Mark Chapman
President
Tortola Sports Club
Tortola
British Virgin Islands
Tel: (284) 494 2868
Email: [email protected]