Two families took five of the eight titles at the Alberta Junior Indoor Provincial Tennis Championships held in Calgary and Edmonton over the past two weekends. Three Oboniyes—Gianna, Josh, and Ethan—all won titles (U12 girls, U14 boys, and U16 boys). And Mia Kupres won two different divisions herself, U14 and U18, pushing through two final matches on the same day.   Other winners were Adam Faragcao (U12), Martyna Ostrzygalo (U16), and Oscar Yang (U18).

These provincial champions, joined by selected team mates, will go on to compete at nationals in Calgary (U12), Vancouver (U14), Montreal (U16), and Markham Ontario (U18) in March and April.   Alberta is looking stronger than ever going into junior nationals this year.  Coach Carson Bell, Saville Centre, described this year’s team:

“The players that will be representing Alberta at the Canadian Junior Nationals this indoor season are among the strongest groups we have ever sent.  It is very likely that Alberta will have seeded players in multiple events as well as strong depth across divisions.  I wouldn’t be surprised if we have more than one player with a top 8 finish this year, if not better.”  (Carson Bell)

Congratulations and good luck at nationals to these provincial champions:

  • Adam Faragcao, Boys U12
  • Gianna Oboniye, Girls U12
  • Joshua Oboniye, Boys U14
  • Mia Kupres, Girls U14
  • Ethan Oboniye, Boys U16
  • Martyna Ostrzygalo, Girls U16
  • Oscar Yang, Boys U18
  • Mia Kupres, Girls U18

View the full results from the U12/U16 events and U14/U18 events.

Photo below. Ethan, Gianna, and Joshua Oboniye, Alberta Indoor Provincial Tennis Champions, 2018, U16, U12, and U14.  Photo by Melissa Penney.

This is how the Junior provincial competitions unravelled over consecutive weekends in Calgary and Edmonton.
Boys U12

Adam Faragcao (2nd seed) won the Boys Singles U12 event with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over runner-up James Holt (4th seed).  The day before, James had defeated  first-seed Kai Baerg (6-4, 6-2) who took third place in a win over Aarav Ahuja  (6-4, 6-1).  In doubles, James Holt and Kai Baerg teamed up to win 6-3, 6-4 over Aarav Ahuja and Braydon Bouliane.  Our provincial U12 winner, Adam Faragcao,  is currently ranked #27 in Canada, and trains at the World Health Club in Edgemont, Calgary.

Girls U12

In the Girls Singles U12 event, 2nd seed Gianna Oboniye commanded a strong win over top-seed Nawal Youssef in a 6-0, 6-2 match, for Gianna’s best provincial result to date.  After their final, Gianna and Nawal joined up for doubles to win 6-2, 6-0 over Waverly Potter (2nd seed) and Anya Tkachyk.  Paulina Grant played a perfect 6-0, 6-0 match over Anya Tkachuk (4th seed) to earn the 3rd place finish.   Our provincial champion, Gianna Oboniye, is currently ranked 15 in Canada and trains at the Saville Centre.

Boys U14

In the Boys Singles U14 event, the first and second seeds competed at a high level on the final day.  Joshua Oboniye (1st seed) demonstrated his winning ways with a hard-fought victory over 2nd-seed Tyler Waddock, 6-3, 7-5.  Chetanna Amadike (4th seed) won 6-3,6-3 over Emmett Potter (3rd seed) to claim third place.  In doubles,  Tyler Waddock and Mac Kim took first place over Joshua Oboniye and Chetanna Amadike (7-5, 6-3).  Our provincial champion, Joshua Oboniye, is currently ranked 14th in Canada and trains at the Saville Centre.  He joined his sister Gianna Oboniye (Girls U12) as provincial champions.

Girls U14

The Girls Singles U14 event played out much the same as the boys U14.  The two top seeds faced off in the final, and then the third and fourth seeds played each other.  Mia Kupres, top seed, successfully executed a variety of tactics in response to the power of Alexia Jacobs (2nd seed), winning the final in two sets (6-4, 6-3).   Aurora Pedwell (4) and Hailey Murphy (3) competed in a close match for 3rd and 4th spots.  Aurora stole the win at 7-5, 7-5, clinching 3rd place.  Mia Kupres, our provincial Girls Singles U14 champion,  had won the U18 championship earlier that same day.  Mia is currently ranked 12th in Canada in the U14 category, and trains at the Saville Centre.

Boys U16

The boys U16 final was an all-Oboniye affair.  Ethan Oboniye (1st seed|) and Joshua Oboniye (2nd seed) played the final.  Older brother Ethan took the title with the 6-3, 6-3 victory, repeating their stand-off in the MNP Junior Championships last month, also in the U16 division.   The Oboniye brothers paired up to take the doubles title over Ryan Murphy and Tyler Waddock (6-2, 6-2).  Our provincial U16 Boys Champion, Ethan Obniye, is ranked 48th in Canada, and trains at the Saville Centre.  He joins siblings Gianna (U12) and Josh (U14) as provincial champions, 2018.

Girls U16

In the Girls U16 division, unseeded Martyna Ostrzygalo took the provincial title in a 6-3, 6-4 win over third-seed Emma Rutherford.  The win garnered Martyna an invitation from Tennis Canada to join a Canadian team in a New York tournament.  The battle for third and fourth spots was hard-fought. Karin Hamilton (4th seed) took the 3-set match over Alexandra Jewitt 7-5, 6-7 (6), 6-1.  These opponents teamed up for doubles to defeat Alexandra Jewitt and Mia Kupres for the doubles title (6-1, 7-5). Martyna Ostrzygalo, our provincial Single Girls U16 provincial champion, is ranked 19 in Canada and trains at the Saville Centre.

Boys U18

Unseeded players also rose to the top in the boys U18 Division. Oscar Yang took on Yanozie Amadike in a close final, earning the win at 6-4, 6-4.  The previous day, these two players had taken out the 2nd seed (Oscar Yang over Nicholas Chow, 6-0, 6-1), and the first seed (Yanozie Amadike over Tyler Sinclair, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4).  Tyler Sinclair (1st seed) and Ethan Oboniye (4th seed) took 3rd and 4th places in a 6-3, 6-2 match.  Our new provincial champion, Oscar Yang, is currently ranked 48th in Canada and trains at the Saville Centre.

Girls U18

In the Girls U18 Division, Mia Kupres (2nd seed) took first place with a convincing win over third-seed Emma Rutherford, 6-0, 6-2 in the final.   Karin Hamilton (4th seed) was third over Hana Gamracy (1st seed) (6-0, 7-5).  And the doubles U18 title was closely contested with Emily Granson and Emma Rutherford taking the title, 7-6, 6-4 in a close match over Alexandra Jewitt and Mia Kupres.  Our provincial U18 Girls champion, Mia Kupres, is currently ranked 67 in Canada in this age category, and trains at the Saville Centre.  Photo below:  Mia Kupres, Don Voaklander Photo

 

Tags
Popular reads