Wolmer’s wins girls’ and boys’ ISSA U-19 Table Tennis titles
In the girls’ final, the Heroes Circle-based school won a hotly contested final 3-2 against St. Jago High while the boys’ final saw them defeat Kingston College by a similar score line.
The girls’ final saw a Wolmer’s team boasting three national players, namely 2023 National Champion Tsenaye Lewis, her older sister Gianna Lewis as well as Liana Campbell facing a St. Jago outfit including two national players of their own, Kelsey Davidson and Keara Whyte, who was the runner up to Lewis at last year’s JTTA National Championships.
The tie began with Tsenaye Lewis defeating Kelsey Davidson three sets to one (11-9, 6-11, 11-4, 11-7) to put the Wolmerians up 1-0.
Keara Whyte then made it 1-1 with three sets to one victory over Gianna Lewis (11-6, 11-2, 6-11, 11-6).
Wolmer’s then restored their advantage when Liana Campbell beat Leanna Smith by three sets to one (6-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-8).
In what was perhaps the tie’s most anticipated clash, Tsenaye and Keara White then had a rematch of the 2023 National Championship final with Lewis having the chance to clinch the title for Wolmer’s.
Whyte had the best possible start, winning the first two sets (11-9, 11-9) before Lewis came roaring back in the third set to win 11-6. The fourth set was then a back-and-forth affair, with Whyte eventually prevailing 14-12 to set up the title-deciding match between Gianna Lewis and Kelsey Davidson.
In the decider, Lewis won the first two sets (11-2, 11-6) before Davidson got on the board in the third (11-9) before Lewis won the fourth (11-9) to secure the title for Wolmer’s.
For Lewis (Gianna) and Campbell, this title meant a lot more as they are both outgoing seniors.
“I am overjoyed to be leaving with this title. My team and I have worked hard and we made it our goal to ensure we take home the gold again this year as our final hoorah,” Lewis told SportsMax.tv.
“My sister Tsenaye, Liana and I realized that this day would come when the more experienced players will leave Wolmer’s so we have prioritized training and motivating the next generation of players,” she added.
Campbell described the win as “an incredible and bittersweet feeling.”
“Ending my last year victorious is such an awarding and joyous feeling. Sharing that with the team creates another fond memory to look back on as I go. I also feel a bit saddened as I’ll never be able to play another ISSA event and represent my school with my lovely teammates. I’ll especially miss the titular bis rides to matches where it was all smiles and laughter.” she added.
The boys’ final saw Wolmer’s take a 1-0 lead over Kingston College thanks to Joel Lamm’s three sets to one win over Javier Levene (11-3, 6-11, 11-1, 11-2).
KC got back on level terms when Gemarco Smith won a five-setter (16-14, 11-3, 4-11, 8-11, 11-9) against Wolmer’s captain Azizi Johnson.
Dominic Robinson then gave the North-Street based institution a 2-1 lead thanks to a straight set (11-2, 11-6, 12-10) win over Maleek Palma.
Wolmer’s made it 2-2 when Jayden Ebanks beat Alden Howard (10-12, 11-6, 11-6, 11-9) before Jelani Barnaby secured the title for Wolmer’s with a straight set win (11-9, 11-2, 11-6) over KC captain Chadwick Duff.
“For the girls, this is the third time that we have been champions. Originally it was U-16 but the girls moved up to U-19 and we were also the All Island champions so hopefully we can repeat that,” said winning coach Clive Grossett.
“For the boys, they also won in U-16 and now they’ve moved up as well. We’re now coming for the all island championship there as well,” he added.
Immaculate Conception High beat Jonathan Grant 3-0 to win the girls’ U-16 title while Jamaica College beat Kingston College 3-0 to win the boys’ equivalent.
The all island matchups will be finalized after the ISSA Rural Area semi-finals and finals scheduled for Friday at the GC Foster College.