Alberta’s Mia Kupres and Martyna Ostrzygalo had a stellar week at the U14 Rogers Indoor Nationals in Vancouver last week.  On the final day of the tournament Kupres and Ostrzygalo were the last two standing, facing off in the all-Alberta final.  It was an exciting day for Alberta tennis, with Kupres (seeded #5) defeating the #2 and #3 seeds, and Ostryzygalo (seeded #13) defeating the #1 seed along the way to the final.  These two top Canadian juniors  both train at the Saville Tennis Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, and are an inspiration for all Alberta tennis players who dream of competing at the national level.

(Photo above:  Mia Kupres, first place, and Martyna Ostrzygalo, second place, U14 Rogers Indoor Nationals.  Carson Bell photo.)

The week before the U14 nationals, both girls had played in Montreal at the U16 national tournament.  There, Kupres placed third losing only to the first seed.  The Alberta team coach in both Calgary (U12) and Vancouver (U14) was Carson Bell, a long-standing member of the Saville Tennis Centre coaching team.

To my knowledge this is the first time that Alberta has been represented by both players in the National final.  It has certainly turned lots of heads from the other Provinces.  (Carson Bell, Saville Tennis Centre, Coach)

Leading Up to the All-Alberta U14 Girls Final in Vancouver

Kupres moved with relative ease through her seven matches leading to the final, winning against the 9th, 3rd and 2nd seeds in two-set matches.  While Kupres was taking care of the #2 and #3 seeds, Ostrzygalo faced the top seed, Danielle Thuten, in the third round.  After winning the first set, Ostrzygalo lost momentum and ended up losing the match 2-6, 6-4, 6-0.  But she would have another chance to apply what she learned when she faced the first seed again in the semi-finals.

This time Ostrzygalo’s determination and tactics led her to a 6-3, 6-3 victory against the #1 seed and she was on to the final against her team-mate.  Kupres took no prisoners against her Alberta opponent and the match was over in two sets (6-3, 6-0).  This was a well-deserved first place finish for Kupres.  As a bonus, Kupres and her partner Reece Carter took the 3/4 spot in doubles.  As a further bonus and perhaps most impressive, Kupres was awarded the tournament sportsmanship award. This was a proud day for the Alberta tennis community.

Link to the tournament results.

Link to more photos.

Photo Below:  Sportsmanship award winners at the U14 Rogers Indoor Nationals:  Ray Xie and Mia Kupres.  (Carson Bell photo)

Other results

Backing up Kupres and Ostrzygalo on the Alberta U14 girls team were Hailey Murphy, Alexia Jacobs, and Aurora Pedwell.   This Alberta girls U14 team came second overall in total team points, only behind Ontario, an impressive feat.  Jacobs had a 3-3 win-loss record including a 3-set match against the number one seed, and a run to the quarter-finals in doubles.  Team mate Hailey Murphy ended with four straight wins in Flight 3, and a 4-3 win-loss record overall.  And Aurora Pedwell also ended the week with two straight wins, and a 3-4 win-loss match record in Flight 3.

Joshua Oboniye led the Alberta boys U14 team making it to the final day of competition and a strong finish in Flight 1.  Oboniye won his first 3 of 4 matches (lost 6-3, 6-3 to the #3 seed) and made it to the Championship qualifying round where he lost to the tournament #2 seed.  At the end of the day, he achieved an impressive 5-2 win-loss record, including a win against the #5 seed.

Team mates Tyler Waddock, Emmett Potter, Chetanna Amadike, Arshjot Bhatti, and Kaetan Mehta gained valuable match play experience with third and fourth flight finishes in matches against some of Canada’s best in this age group.

You can contact me at:  susan.wells@tennisalberta.com

Photo Below:  Joshua Oboniye, U14 boys, top Alberta player, 5-2 win-loss record at Rogers Indoor U14 Nationals.

 

 

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