SPORTS SECTION E
Wimbledon, Page 7
THURSDAY, JULY 5, 2018
Junkanoo Bowl: Clarke, Armbrister eliminated JUNIOR By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net THE last remaining Bahamian players in both the boys’ and girls’ main draw were eliminated in the ITF Junkanoo Bowl. Elena Clarke’s tournament run came to an end in the quarterfinal while Donte Armbrister was ousted in the second round at the National Tennis Centre yesterday. Clarke, the No.2 seed in the draw, was upset by Dharani Niroshan of Canada in straight sets 7-5, 6-0. After a first-round bye, Clarke won 6-1, 6-0 over Kayla Solagnier of Aruba.
Eighth-ranked Armbrister fell to Jack Anthrop of the United States, 6-2, 6-2. He previously advanced out of the opening round with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Quinn McLeod of the United States. Clarke exacted some semblance of revenge in the quarter-final of the doubles draw when she teamed with Kriti Williams of the United States to defeat Niroshan and Gabriela Singer of Curacao 4-6, 6-2 (10-8). Clarke and Williams are the topranked team in the draw and will advance to face the fourth-seeded team - Sandra Alonso of Spain and Nikita Vishwase of the United States - at 12:30pm today.
Alonso and Vishwase advanced with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Victoria Lushnikov of the United States and Kayla Solagnier of Aruba. On the other side of the bracket, the Bahamian pair – Gabrielle and Abagail Simms - were eliminated in the quarter-final with a 6-1, 6-2 loss to the third-seeded Zoe Hitt of the United States and Aleksa Marquez of Peru. The remaining girls’ singles quarter-final matches included: Racheal Gailis (USA) 6-4, 6-1 over Tara Malik (USA), Anika Jaskova (SVK) 6-3,6-2 over Vishwase and Alonso over Hitt 7-5, 6-1. In other boys’ main draw matches, top-ranked Alexandre LeBlanc (CAN) won 6-0, 6-0 over
Arun Venkat Guruswamy (USA), Adam Neff (USA) won 6-2, 6-2 over Chaiyarin (THA), Harrison Gold (USA) won 6-3, 6-1 over Tom LeBlanc Claverie (FRA), Benjamin Kittay (USA) won 6-2, 6-2 over McLeod, Michael Nicholls (USA) won 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 over Russell Berdusco (USA). In addition, Leighton Allen (USA) won 6-0, 6-0 over Alejandro Jose Gandini (DOM) and JC Roddick (USA) won 5-7,6-3,6-1 over Boris Palmade (USA). The week-long International Tennis Federation touring event for players in the 18-and-under and 14-and-under divisions continues today at the National Tennis Centre.
Jones and Sun in win column by RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net onnecticut Sun head coach Curt Miller said he hopes the recent performances from Jonquel Jones means the All-Star forward has turned the corner and overcome her late start to the season. Jones finished with eight points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals in the Sun’s 73-72 win over the Los Angeles Sparks at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Tuesday night. The Sun (10-7) led by as much as 20 points in the first half before weathering a furious second-half comeback to earn their first win at the Staples Center since prevailing 76-68 on June 21, 2015. The Sun will face the Phoenix Mercury tonight at 10pm. In Jones’ previous contests, she finished with 10 points and four rebounds against the Seattle Storm and posted 21 points, seven rebounds and five assists against Indiana. On the season, she is averaging nine points and 5.4 rebounds per game. After struggling against Indiana the previous week, Jones told the Norwich Bulletin that she refocused and went back to the drawing board. “(Miller) talked to me after the last game and he and my mom said the exact same thing to me, that I was out there really trying so hard that I was getting into my own head. I always want to do well for this team. I know what everybody gives and I just want to be a part of that and bring what I can do to
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CONNECTICUT Sun’s Jonquel Jones finished with eight points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals in Tuesday night’s 73-72 win over the Los Angeles Sparks at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) the table,” Jones said. “It felt great, honestly, to be able to do that for the team and I was happy we walked away with the win.” Her 21-point performance against Indiana included 5-6 from
three-point range. “We don’t want a 6-foot-6 two guard,” Miller said. “I’m excited about some of the offensive rebounding, she got five offensive rebounds, that’s back to the old J.J. and I was excited as much
about that as I was the 3s,” Miller said. “For her, to see the ball go through the basket, the weight of the world will be off her shoulders. “She still has to get back to her old self in a lot of
areas, but her defence was better, she got on the offensive glass and we systematically did what we wanted to do with her offensively with her on the perimeter because of how (Indiana) guards you.”
GOLFERS TEE OFF IN JAMAICA By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net TEAM Bahamas opened play at the 2018 Caribbean Amateur Junior Golf Championships yesterday as the event teed off at the at the Caymanas Golf and Country Club in Caymanas Estate, Jamaica. A roster of five boys and four girls will contest the tournament and look to improve on last year’s finish. The girls’ team is made up of Ashley Michel (15), Haylie Turnquest (15), Sophie Anand (14) and Tyesha Tynes (12). The boys’ list has Cameron Riley (18), Xavier Robinson (17), Dominic Greives (15), Saketh Hedge (15) and Matthew Deveaux (13). Leading the way for Team Bahamas is the duo of Michel and Anand, tied for third in the Girls’ Under-15 division. Both shot an opening round 79, seven shots over par. Michel closed out the front nine with a birdie on the ninth. She also birdied 12 and 13 on the back nne. Anand birdied early on hole two and shot par on seven of her final nine holes. In the 18 field Boys U-18 division, team captain Riley is tied for eighth after he shot an 81 (+9) and Robinson is tied for 15th with an 86 (+14). Sebert Walker of Jamaica leads the group after he shot an even 72. Turnquest shot an opening round 82, 10 shots over par. She is tied for fourth in the division among nine golfers. Hedge, playing in the Boys’ U-15 division, is tied at No.7 overall with an opening round 79, (+7) over par. He is ranked No. 9 in the 19-man field. Dominic Greiveis is ranked No. 13 with an 84, +12. In the Boys’ U-13, Matthew Deveaux is in 15th place with an opening round 107 (+35) and in the Girls’ U-13 Tynesha Tynes shot 95, +23, tied for seventh. The Bahamian golfers will continue to face-off against their Caribbean counterparts from the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and
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Greene new track and field head coach for Kentucky Wildcats By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net BAHAMIAN track and field coach Rolando Lonnie Greene has accepted a new post at another elite Division I programme. Greene was introduced as the new track and field/cross country head coach at the University of Kentucky by Wildcats athletic director Mitch Barnhart earlier this week.
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Greene joins the Wildcats in the SEC after a successful six-year stint with the Purdue Boilermakers in the Big 10. At his introductory press conference, Greene – a graduate of Murray State in Murray, Kentucky - said his return to the Commonwealth would be a welcome opportunity for the next stop of his coaching career. “I became a man in the state of Kentucky, this place has a special place in my heart, I’m excited about this opportunity to lead this programme. I think we can continue to do some great things.” “I came to the state of Kentucky in the fall of 1984 as a freshman attending Murray State University. Just to give you a quick bit of how I got there, I was at the Junior Pan-Am Games in The Bahamas. “Jay Flanagan at the time, I had just gotten done running the 400m hurdles, he walked up to me and he said, ‘hey young man, where are you going to college?’ “About three weeks later, I was on a plane headed to Nashville, Tennessee, to attend school,” he said.
Greene immeAt Purdue he diately noted that recruited several his ultimate goal is Bahamian standouts to bring a national during his tenure championship to the including reigning programme. Big 10 Track athlete “I like to win, I’m of the year Deyvnne very competitive. Charlton, Carmeisha I try to remain as Cox, Keannu Penhumble as I can, but nerman and Kinard for me, humility is Rolle. just strength under The Wildcats will control. I believe in already have Bahabeing aggressive and mian talent on the ROLANDO GREENE trying to win at this track this fall with level. incoming freshman “My ultimate goal is to win the sprinter Devine Parker on the National Championship. That’s roster. “I think in the Southeastone of my career goals. As long ern Conference, it’s got to be an as I’ll be here, that is going to be international team. You’ve got to the objective of this programme.” find the best kids in the United He said: “We’re going to do it the States, and then you got to go find right way, we’re going to graduate the best kids around the world young men and women. They’re if you want to be competitive. going to have the complete col- The NCAA is the international lege experience. I believe you can NCAA. do both. You know, sometimes “The NCAA of today is not the you have the experience where a NCAA of old in the 1980s when young man or woman is a great I was competing in college. So if student and then you have those you want to be competitive, you great athletes, and they struggle have to spread your wings a little with the balance in between. I bit. I have those connections. I believe you can do both.” have those connections around
the world, the Caribbean, where you can go out and find the best kids,” Green said. “My objective is to go out and find the best student-athlete who can handle the rigours academically here at Kentucky and who can handle it athletically in the SEC at the national level. That’s my objective. But yes, recruiting will be all-encompassing.” Greene’s tenure at Purdue was marked by some of the best seasons in programme history, culminating in an eighth-place finish by the women’s track and field team at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships last month. Under Greene’s leadership, the women’s team also won the team title at the 2017 Big Ten Outdoor Championships for the first time since 1999 and finished 14th at each of the last two NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. The men’s team is just two years removed from a 2016 season in which the Boilermakers finished 15th at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships – best
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