The 2014 under 19 All Island Inter School Tennis Tournament came to a close on the 11th of July.
The matches which were worked off at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association produced Tennis of the highest caliber as the senior players of reputed institutions battled it out for the ultimate prize of being able to claim the coveted under 19 title.
After some hard fought Tennis it was the Peterites who came out on top as they defeated S. Thomas’ College to secure a wonderful win for the team coached by the experienced Dinith Pathirajah. The victory also meant that St Peters College crushed the Anandians hopes of claiming back to back titles in the Overall Interschool Tennis Championships as they secured a win in the under 19 category which proved to be the decisive factor as far as their well deserved overall victory was concerned.
Before the commencement of the under 19 event both schools were evenly poised after St. Peters College won the under 17 event and Ananda College won the under 15 event. It was everything to play for as far as both schools were concerned but it was the Peterites who rose to the occasion and won the event whereas the Anandians suffered a nasty exit in the group stages.
Under 19 Finals
The finals witnessed two of the powerhouses of under 19 tennis namely St Peters College and St Thomas’ College taking each other on in what was set to be a battle of mammoth proportions. The day’s proceedings kicked off with the 1st singles match that was played between Nishangan Nadarajah of St. Peters College and Avindra Perera representing the blue black and blue. Nadarajah who is on the brink of securing himself a permanent spot on the country’s Davis Cup team proved to be too experienced as he blew away his opponent with a score line reading 6-3 6-1. Nadarajah’s consistent ground strokes and agility on court proved to be too much to handle for the young Thomian who was of no match to the Peterites class and finesse.
The Peterites strengthened their position further through yet another convincing win in the first doubles match. The Peterite duo of Sanjeeve Mohankumar and Shanitha Perera defeated Amandha Gunawardene and Sebastian Sansoni 6-1 6-3. The talented Mohankumar controlled the game for the Peterites through his strong serve and crisp volleys and was ably supported by the steady Perera who ensured that the duo won key points through his consistency from the back of the court.
The victory for St Peters College was confirmed in emphatic style by Chehan Deepal who handed out a 6-0 6-0 drubbing to the helpless Jerique Rajapakse from S. Thomas’s College. The pair who clashed in the second singles were expected to play a match that went down to the wire but Deepal’s aggression from all areas of the court proved to be too fiery for Rajapakse who was at sea throughout the course of the game.
The wins in the above mentioned matches ensured that the Thomians had no way of staging a comeback although the Peterites gave a walk over in the second doubles and were down by one set to love in the third singles.
(NOTE- The third singles was called off when the Thomian Avishka Perera was leading 6-3 as there was no requirement for the match to be completed since the tie had already been decided)
The victory in the under 19 event along with the one in the under 17 event and the runner up position in the under 15 event secured a well deserved overall victory for the Peterites who edged out the Anandians who recorded a win in the under 15 event and second place in the under 17 event.
ThePapare.com congratulates St Peters College on their well deserved victory and would also like to wish all teams the best of luck ahead of their preparations for the next important schools Tennis tournament of the year which is the National School Games.
