Sadili Players Dominate 2nd Day Of Heroes Tournament

Sadili Oval's tennis players dominated the matches of U14, U16 and U18 categories at Nairobi Club on the second heroes tournament on Sunday. 
11 year old Sada Nahimana maintained an unbeaten record, to lift the Girls Under 14s after trouncing Mercy Mijide 6/2,6/0 in the semis, and Tonia Kubai 6/2 6/1 in the finals. 
Melisa Brown pushed out of lassitude in the second set to beat Achu Madheui 6/3,5/7 (10) to book a Girls U16 final against Chizi Mutsumi, who had won against the Khadija Ali 6/2 6/3, a match which Chizi won narrowly 3/6 6/3 (11)
Like Sada, Sadili team captain for the tournament, Jamin Luvembe, comfortably dispatched with opposition beating is closest rival, team mate 15 year old John "Metal" Lutaya 6/4,6/2, .
Peter Ndungu 6/0,6/0 to take the Boys U18. Lutaya took the runner-up medal after trouncing Peter Ndungu 6/1 6/0. 
Henry Ayiesiga vs Petty Ananda..6/2,6/2 in the semi-finals of the Boys Under 16, to set up an exciting final against team mate, Shebani Kabura, who won narrowly against yet another Sadili star, Robert Kasombo 6/4 4/6 (10) in the other semis. Shebani overcame Ayesiga 6/4 6/3 to grab the gold medal. 
In other matches, Wycliffe Okenye lost in a close semi-finals against Shivam Shah 6/7(1),4/6 in the Boys U14. 
The tournament served as early preparation towards the East African Zonals in January in early 2013 and to which selected teams are likely to include Olivier, Sada, Chizi, Shebani, Henry, Lutaya and Melissa.
Many thanks to Kassie McIlvaine, Amolo Ngweno and Liz Odera for contributing towards making it possible for the Sadili team to attend the tournament, and to KLTA for giving a waiver for some of the entries.

TEAM SADILI RETURN FROM A SUCCESSFUL EAST AFRICA CIRCUIT

Shebani Kabura

Sadili Oval Sports Academy’s upcoming Juniors Shebani Kabura (Bdi), Josephat Garo (Ken), Olivier Kigotho (Ken) and Sada Nahimana (Bdi), will today return following a three-week stint of continental tournaments, in which they showed stellar performance, at the ITF/CAT Junior Tennis Circuit that began in Bujumbura, Burundi and concluded today in Kigali, Rwanda.

In the First leg of the Boys 14 and Under, Olivier Kigotho beat Nzeyimana Karim (Bdi) 6/0 6/1, before losing to Alosha Chikanda (Zim) 2/6 4/6 in the pre-quarters. He then beat Sullemani Omari (Tan) 6/3 6/1 and Ibrahim Sadiki (Tan) 7/5 7/6 (4) to earn an honorable 11^th place, the best position of any Kenyan in the tournament. Newcomer Josephat Garo (Ken) lost his first round match to experienced Hazikimana Mupenda 3/6 4/6, before rallying to beat Reuben Njuguna Kimani (Ken) to earn 18^th place out of 36.  Shebani Kabura (Bdi), beat Hakizimana Mupendwa (Bdi) 6/4 2/6 6/1, Rajabu Ntamba (Bdi) 3/6 6/4 6/4, and Shabani Kasalo (Bdi) 6/4 6/3 to reach the finals, losing to Erneste Habyambere 3/6 6/3 2/6 in a closely contested match, earning a final 2^nd place out of 32 players.

Sada Nahimana

In the First leg of the Girls 14 and Under, 10 year old Sada Nahimana beat Abigael Tate-Harte (Ken) 6/1 5/7 6/0, Prudence Theuri (Ken) 6/0 6/1, and Aisha Niyonkuru (Bdi) 6/2 6/3 topping group B and qualifying for the play-offs, where she trounced Oliva Tuyisenge (Rwa) 6/0 6/0 and finally losing in the finals to take second place against 14 year old Mariam Mujawimana (Bdi) 7/5 3/6 0/6. In the 2^nd Leg of the Girls 14 and Under Nahimana, once again, dispensed confidently with all opposition before losing in the finals to Mariam, and earning second place. Her final leg in Rwanda, was her biggest test, and an exhausted but determined fight ensued, with Sada beating Oliva Tuyisenge (Rwa) 6/2 6/3, Alida Bella Mugisha (Bdi) 6/4 6/3, and July Nkatha (Ken) 6/1 6/3 in the group stages, she then beat Aisha Niyonkuru (Bdi) 6/0 3/6 6/1 in the semis, then lost, once again in the finals, to Mariam Mujawimana (Bdi) 3/6 3/6 to earn an overall second place in the tournament.

       

Olivier Kigotho

In the 2^nd leg of the Boys 14 and Under, Olivier Kigotho dispensed with Billy Nkingi (Bdi) 61/ 6/2 to prepare for a marathon match against his team mate and second seeded Shebani Kabura, losing closely 6/7 (4) 1/6. He then rallied to beat Kimani (Ken) 6/0 6/4, before losing to Hakizimana Mupenda 4/6 2/6 to take 14^th place out of 32 players. He later improved in confidence on the hot clay courts on Rwanda during the third and final leg, earning tenth place after beating Jonathan Giru Mugisha 6/1 6/2 and Sadick Ibrahim Shabani (Tan) 6/1 3/6 10/6. His team mate, Josephat Garo, also fought hard and long but was unable to dispense with Hakizimana, losing in three close sets 6/4 6/7 (4) 5/7, finally beating Abdoul Nzeyimana (Bdi) 6/0 6/0 to take position 21 out of 32 in the second tournament in Burundi. In Rwanda, Garo improved to 19^th place. Shebani beat Alosha Chikanda (Zim) 6/4 6/3 in the quarters, losing closely to Shebani Kasalo (Bdi) 5/7 6/4 6/7 (2) in a well-fought semi-finals. He then beat Nicodemus Mallya (Tan) 6/3 6/1 to earn third place overall. He struck out in the final tournament in Rwanda to determined to improve his scores, dispensing with Tanzanians Sadick Ibrahim and Emmanuel Mallya 6/62 and 6/3 6/1, respectively, only to meet a retiring Shabani Kasalo in the semis, and walking into a tough final against Saidi Nkurunzinza 4/6 6/4 4/6 to take second place, and earn a big chance to the Masters Tournament scheduled for later this year.

Top Seed Downed As Kenyan Proceeds To Semis

Alosha Chikanda

Top seed Mariam Mujawimana (Burundi) today stumbled, losing her lead to unseeded Kenyan Cherryl Fuasso 4/6 6/1 2/6 today, at Sadili Oval's Court 1, opening the quarter to an exciting Kenya-Mauritius semi-final match tomorrow between Cherryl and Chan Tam Neng Mael in the Girls Under 14s, at the 2nd leg of the ITF/CAT East Africa tournament, Cherryl becomes the first Kenyan to reach a semi-finals in the tournament, 1st leg runner-up, Rotimi Adetunji (Congo B), has reached the semi-finals, and awaits the result of a tough quarterfinal battle between unseeded Tonia Kubai (Kenya) and 1st leg winner, Amelie Boy (Mauritius),

In the Boys Under 14s, seeds continued as expected, with Burundi taking three out of the 4 semi-final spots. Second seed and 1st leg champion, Shebani Kabura, easily dipatched of Chikanda Alosha (Zimbabwe) 6/1 6/4; 3rd seed Shabani Kassalo and first seed Saidi Nkurunziza were pushed, but did not collapse, winning against Jules Ndimwami (Rwanda) 7/5 6/2 and Ntaba Rajabu (Burundi) 6/3 6/4, respectively. Talented 4th seed Erneste Habyambere (Rwanda) took the final semi-final berth, winning in a tough encounter against favoured Dean Dulthummon (Mauritius) 6/1 6/7 (6) 7/6 (1).

In the boys Under 12, Damien Laporte (Seychelles) made short work of Ryan Randiek 6/1 6/1, setting up an interesting semi-final match against Dennis Moses (Zimbabwe), who won easily against Albert Njogu (Kenya) 6/1 6/0, Second seed Albert Mugisha (Burundi) also made short work of Shaun Andriamaro (Seychelles) 6/0 6/0 to reach the semi-finals, awaiting the results of the quarterfinal match between Kenyans Keean Shah and Geoffrey Ogega.

The Girls under 12s, have seeds unbeaten, with top seed Aisha Niyonkuru (Burundi) dispatching with Esther Wahome (Kenya) 6/1 6/2, and 2nd seed Tayo Adetunji (Congo B) sweeping away 4th seed Mwamini Bitungwa (Burundi) 6/0 6/0, to set up yet another exciting finals. tomorrow.

First Leg of ITF/CAT Regional Tennis Tournament Ends Successfully At Sadili

SHEBANI KABURA

Shebani Kabura today grabbed the boys under 14 title from team mate Saidi Nkurunziza 6/1 6/3, in the finals of the first leg of the International Tennis Federation/Confederation of Africa Tennis ranked 14 and 12 and Under Tournament, currently being held at Sadili Oval Sports Academy in Langata, Nairobi, under auspices of the Kenya Lawn Tennis Association. Shebani, who has been a student of Malezi School and trains at Sadili Oval for the last 5 years, also partnered with Saidi to reach an all-Burundi Boys Under 14 final, where they lost narrowly in a tie break to Omari Mohammed and Shabani Kassalo 4/1 04 (9). Saidi had to fight past Kenyan Sheil Kotecha 7/5 2/6 7/5 in a closely contested quarterfinal, and team mate Shabani Kassalo (Burundi) 1/6 6/4 6/3 in the semi-finals to qualify for the final berth, while Shebani Kabura eased past Egill Sirgudsson (Iceland) 6/1 6/1 in the quarters, before meeting 6^th seed Ernest Habiyambere (Rwanda and ITF Center Burundi), playing a tough semi-final match, where he floundered after a quick first set, eventually rallying to win 6/3 0/6 6/4.

LAPORTE DAMIEN 

Seychelles became the team to watch in the Boys Under 12 taking all top places. New sensation and newcomer, 10 year old Laporte Damien (Seychelles) thunder his way past all opposition to lift the Boys Under 12 category. Damien beat Geoffrey Ogega (Kenya) 6/0 6/4, and Emile Teja (Kenya) 7/5 6/3 to meet 1^st seed Jonathan Mugisha (Burundi), beating him 6/4 6/3 in the final. Damien partnered with Sahun Adriamaro to give Seychelles the boys under 12 doubles , gold medal when they beat Emile Teja/Jonathan Mugisha 5/4 (5) 3/5 (3). In the Girls Under 12 final, Sneha Kotecha beat Aisha Niyonkuru 4/6 6/2 6/2 to give the first gold medal. Sneha then partnered with Aisha to take the girls doubles 5/4 (1) 4/0 against Saada Nahimana and Bitungwa Mwamini. The most unexpected development was when unseeded Annie Lord (Kenya) upset 4^th seed Prudence Theuri (Kenya) 6/1 6/4 and Natalia Mburu (Kenya) 6/0 6/2 to reach the semifinals. The girls Under 14 singles had many more surprises, with seeds tumbling, including top seed Mariam Mujawimana (ITF Centre Burundi) who fell to third seed Amelie Boy (Mauritius) 3/6 3/6 in the semi-finals, and Adetunji Rotimi (Congo), who brought down second seed Chan Tam Neng Maelyn (Mauritius) 6/4 7/5 in the second semi-finals, setting up an exciting finals that saw Amelie take the Gold Medal 4/6 6/2 6/4 for Mauritius. Neng/Amelie also won the girls Under 14 finals beat Tonia Kubai/Cherryl Fuasso (Kenya) 4/1 4/5 (2). Kubai/Fuasso casued a major upset when they downed top seeds Mariam Mujawimana/Abigael Tate-Harte (ITF Centre) 4/2 5/3.

The second tournament also runs at Sadili Oval and is expected to end on Saturday 5^th May 2012. A total of 114 participants from 9 countries are represented at the event and include Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, ITF East Africa Centre, Rwanda, Congo, Zimbabwe, Mauritius and Republic of South Africa. Other entries who are also residents on Kenya include UK, Iceland and Ireland. Participants earn crucial CAT points and ranking.

So Far the Top Ten Rankings From The First Leg Are As Follows:

Boys Under 14: 1. Shebani Kabura (BUR) 2. Sadili Nkurunziza (BUR) 3. Shabani Kassalo (BUR) 4. Erneste Nabyambere (BUR) 5. Alosha Chikanda (ZIM) 6. Kassalo Omar (BDI) 7. Egil Sirgudsson (ICE) 8. Sheil Kotecha (KEN) 9. Jules Ndimwami (BUR) 10. Dean Dulthummon (MRI)

Girls Under 14: 1. Amelie Boy (MRI) 2. Adetunji Rotimi (Congo B) 3. Mariam Mujawimana (BUR) 4. Saada Nahimana (BDI) 5. Zara Lennon (MRI) 6. Cherryl Fuasso (KEN) 7. Chan Tam Neng Maelyn (MRI) 8. Sascha Taylor (KEN) 9. Abigail Tate Harte (KEN) 10. Tonia Kubai (KEN)

Boys Under 12: 1. Laporte Damien (SEY) 2. Jonathan Mugisha (BUR) 3. Keean Shah (KEN) 4. Emile Teja (KEN) 5. Geoffrey Ogega (KEN) 6. Ryan Randiek (KEN) 7. Jairus Olwanga (KEN) 8. Arjun Popat (KEN) 9. Shaun Andriamano (SEY) 10. David Matanda (KEN).

Girls Under 12: 1. Sneha Kotecha (KEN) 2. Aisha Niyonkuru (BUR) 3. Tayo Adetunji (CONGO B) 4. Annie Lord (KEN) 5. Esther Wahome (KEN) 6. Natalya Mburu 7. Tatiana Szapary (KEN) 8. Bianca Oyoo (KEN) 9. Takalani Moloao (RSA) 10. Alice Mbithe (KEN)

SADILI JUNIOR PLAYERS DOMINATE KENYA OPEN

Sadili Oval Sports Academy’s juniors proved that they are the team to beat at the just concluded Real Insurance Kenya Open at Nairobi Club, when they dominated the junior tournament and made inroads into the senior event.

17 year old Amadi Kagoma became the youngest player to reach the quarterfinals of the Mens Singles,  knocking out third seed Habiyambere Diadonne (Rwanda) 7-6(4) 6-3 in the first round. Kagoma also reached the semi-finals of the Mens doubles with team mate Yasin Shabani, losing to eventual tournament finalists, Habyambere/Mugabe 6-1  5-7 10-6 in a closely contested match. Kagoma, also lifted the boys Under 18 title, over team mate Jamin Luvembe, 6-3 2-6 6-3.

Chizi Mutsumi: the new girl on the scene

9 year old sensation, Saada Nahimana lifted the girls Under12s, winning 6-0 6-0 (she has only lost one game in the whole tournament) against her opponent Prudence Theuri, while Shebani Kabura cruised over Martin Luveka 6-1 6-0 in the Boys Under 16s. Back to the tennis scene was Chizi Mutsumi, who is now full time at the academy. Chizi reached the girls singles finals, losing to Sofiya Gulam 6-2, 3-6, 2-6. Says Chizi, “I have only been playing for two months: I am quite pleased with my results. I know that I can perform even better”. Her team mate, Lorna Bhwejje took third place in the Girls under 18, after Gloria Rotich and Alvas Wahome, respectively. Amadi and Shebani have already jetted out to represent the region at the age-group Africa Junior Championships in South Africa and Egypt, respectively. Amadi will be joining team mate and former Sadili junior, Hassan Ndayashimiye to try and win the boys Under 18s for Burundi and East Africa.

Other juniors who performed well in this team included Olivier Kigotho (Boys Under 14 quarters), Henry Ayesiga (Boys Under 16 semis), and Kibera-born players Ronex Otieno (boys u14 semis) and Josephat Garo (boys U14 quarters).

The Real Insurance Kenya Open attracted 135 juniors from around the region, who played in the Under 10 to the Under 18 categories.