The Bermuda Island Games Tennis Teams have been released, with this being the maiden event for Bermuda's number 1 male and female with Tariq Simons and Shelby Madeiros making their debut.
Simons will lead the Men’s Singles attack, and Madeiros will lead the Women's Single attack and Mixed Doubles with Gavin Manders.
It will also be the first time for Victoria Stephens who will compete in the team event with Madeiros and Mixed Doubles with David Thomas.
Gavin Manders said, “We are raising our own funds to compete with MTM heading up another Bermuda Derby fundraising campaign with our team running the relay with Tariq and Shelby running the whole thing. We did a similar thing for Daniel Phillips last year raising $10,000 for his international tournaments.
We believe this is great competition to bring energy to the sport, and we must realize that there are many pathways and levels between the high-level high school, mid-tier collegiate, and professional tennis. We cannot just focus on the major competitions as we are skipping steps when we do that and losing athletes along the way. David and I have made this a priority to keep this alive, and MTM will be looking to develop and take younger teams moving forward.
We have been training hard and are looking forward to going to battle together. Davis Cup-style format first, followed by individual event tournaments, so fitness plays a major role and mental endurance is the key for us to sustain our level throughout the week.”
Manders concluded, “Our main goal is always to get on the podium in any division that we compete in as we have a rich history of bringing home medals.”
Manders has previously won 2 Golds, 4 Silvers, and 5 Bronzes, while Thomas has 1 Gold, 4 Silvers, and 3 Bronze.
Bermuda Island Games Tennis Team
Men’s Team
Gavin Manders Tariq Simons James Finnigan Chris Weeks David Thomas
Womens Team
Shelby Madeiros Victoria Stephens
Individual events
Men’s Singles
Tariq Simons James Finnigan Christopher Weeks
Womens Singles
Shelby Madeiros Victoria Stephens
Men’s Doubles
Gavin Manders/James Finnigan David Thomas/Tariq Simons
Mixed Doubles
Gavin Manders/Shelby Madeiros David Thomas/ Victoria Stephens
