Bermudians Shine At Pickleball Championships
The Caribbean Pickleball Championships & Caribbean Nations Cup, presented by Butterfield Bank, got underway at the Pickleball Cayman facility in the Cayman Islands, with Bermudian players making a strong impression.
In the under-14 boys’ division, Owen Stewart enjoyed a successful run, winning all his group stage matches. He defeated Tai Wight 11-4, Luke Ivey 11-0, and Raahil Malde 11-0. Stewart continued his winning streak in the semi-finals, defeating Adelaide Drobac 15-4. However, he was ultimately defeated by Vincent Strommer 15-8 in the final.
Jaden Jones claimed the gold competing in the under-18 boys’ division. Jones started strong with dominant wins over Matthew Bonikowski [11-1] and Ethan Brosnihan [11-2].
The mixed doubles open 5.0 division witnessed an all-Bermuda final, with Gavin Manders and Sasha Fisher emerging victorious. They defeated Imani Phillips and Benjamin Jones in a thrilling three-setter.
Manders and Fisher had a dominant run through the group stage, winning all their matches convincingly. Their victories included wins over Yaniv Semo and Nicole Ramroop [11-2], Elena Testori and Alex Frazer [11-1], Phillips and Jones [11-6], Zsuzsanna Strommer Telek and Mark Rawlins [11-6], and Anita Warhurst and Payten Wight [11-4].
Phillips and Jones also had a solid group stage performance. They started with an 11-2 win over Testori and Frazer but then suffered an 11-5 loss to Warhurst and Wight. Following their defeat to Manders and Fisher [11-6], they bounced back with wins against Semo and Ramroop [11-4] and Telek and Rawlins [11-6].
