THE?SENIOR?PLAYERS?will return to the tennis tables tonight as the National Senior Games enter the knockout phase.
When the rallies are completed following the 7:30 start, a new champion is sure to be crowned.Last year’s champion Carl Sealy opted not to compete this season but has not deserted his peers and has been heavily involved in officiating during the course of the tournament.
With Sealy out of the competitive action eight players have advanced from the two pools involved in the group exchanges.
Group one winner Courtney Springer’s first hurdle will be in the form of Rawle Husbands, his quarter- final opponent. At the opposite end of the draw, Group two winner Wilmont Goddard will be up against the left-handed Philip Tull, who, like Husbands, is a gritty hard-working player.
The preliminary evidence suggests that Springer and Goddard could meet in the final but Chris Banfield, Charles Lovell and Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Bostic will all feel they have at least an equal chance of competing for the gold medal.
Banfield’s quarter final opponent is Wayne Branch while Bostic and Lovell will square of in the other quarter-final, probably the most difficult to predict. Excitement and intrigue should be the key characteristics of the playoffs.
