13 Aug 2011 Malezi School Are National Tennis Champions 2011

Richard Ooko in perfect balance

Captain Amadi Kagoma led Malezi School and Nairobi Province to successfully defend their Boys and Girls titles at the Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association Games, which ended on the 13th August 2011. Amadi overcame the biggest opposition, pushing Tony Orwa of Central Province to second place. Malezi's Yasin Lila Shabani was third. In the boys doubles, Jamin Luvembe and Richard Ooko proved themselves worthy for the second year running, lifting the title with ease. Says Jamin, "We have been working hard all year, we just needed to keep doing the same".

At the nationals in Kisumu last year, rookies Lorna Bhwejje and Melissa Brown had difficulty keeping it together, and lost the doubles to Central Province at the semis, and it fell to Sakina Nshimirimana and Teresa Odera to work to win the championship trophy. This year, the more determined and confident pair, Lorna and Melissa took every match without dropping a single set, to keep the trophy at Malezi and earn valuable points for Nairobi Province for yet another year.

Captain Amadi's comment was "The standard of tennis has improved a lot, especially amongst the boys. But we have also improved, putting in a lot of effort, and it has paid. Being part of Sadili Talent Training Academy is also a big boost for us, giving us the confidence we need to play at any level. I am very proud to be part of Malezi School, and our team spirit will definitely carry us to perform well again next year". Amadi takes over captaincy from Terry Odera (2010), and will be leading the team into 2012 season. Teresa is a freshman playing varsity tennis in Iowa, USA.

Malezi School have been national champions for 9 years running and now taking their 10th, with successful teams ensuring that they keep winning the championships for Nairobi Province and their school.