Sierra Donaldson, fresh off the collegiate circuit in the United States, joins The Bahamas’ team for the Billy Jean King Cup by BNP Paribas, formerly the Fed Cup, in Panama City, Panama.
Donaldson is added to the team of player/captain Kerrie Cartwright, and fellow collegiate players Sydney Clarke and Elana Mackey.
Donaldson, who is at the end of her junior year in college, plays for Lee University Flames in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II. She and the Lady Flames bowed out to the Mississippi College Choctaws in the quarterfinals of the Gulf State Conference Championships at the O’Connor Tennis Center, in Montgomery, Alabama, in April, thus ending their season.
Donaldson was also named as an athlete of the week during the 2021 college season and brings three years of collegiate experience to the team.
Grand Bahamian Simone Pratt was unable to travel with the team and Donaldson is expected to be a strong addition to the squad, thus forming a part of the talented quartet for The Bahamas.
The Bahamas will be the top seeded team in its group as a result of its past performance in Billy Jean King Cup play. The team will play in the Americas Group II Event A that has seven teams. The other teams are Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Panama and Uruguay. They will compete in two pools, one with four teams and one with three teams, and the winners of each pool will play each other to determine which nation will advance to the Americas Group I for 2022.
“Everybody is excited,” said Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association (BLTA) President Perry Newton before the team departed for Panama City on the weekend. “The whole tennis community is excited. The team is excited. This is a quality team. The ladies for the past few years have been placing second in this event. We are hoping that for this year, we have a little bit more experience.”
Event B that was set to be in La Paz, Bolivia, will play at a later date in the year because of the COVID-19 situation in Bolivia.
The Bahamas’ team is hoping to put on a strong performance to advance through tournament play. The draw is set for today, and play will get underway tomorrow.
The matches will be played at the Centro de Alto Rendimiento Fred Maduro in Panama City. The final will be held on Saturday.
The post Donaldson joins Billy Jean King Cup team in Panama appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.
source https://thenassauguardian.com/donaldson-joins-billy-jean-king-cup-team-in-panama/
No comments:
Post a Comment