From March 30 – April 5, Regina’s Teah Chavez (along with the rest of Team Prairies) competed at the 2019 Under 14 Rogers Indoor Junior National Championships. In the best performance ever by a female from Saskatchewan, Teah finished eighth in Girls Singles! Teah also had success in Girls Doubles, reaching the Quarter-Finals with partner Aurora Pedwell of Alberta.
To cap off her incredible week, Teah was selected from all the female players to receive the Girls Sportsmanship Award from Tennis Canada. This award proves that Teah is not only an incredible competitor but a respectful and courteous person on and off the court. Tennis Saskatchewan is incredibly proud of Teah’s achievements at this year’s indoor nationals and congratulates her, her coaches, and her family on her successes!
Here’s the story of Teah’s tournament:
In the Girls Singles Round Robin stage, Teah entered the draw as a 13-seed. This placed her in a box with a third seed, Scarlett Nicholson of Ontario. Teah opened her tournament with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Isabella Baker of Nova Scotia. Teah followed this up by defeating Quebec’s Candice Bernier 6-4, 6-1. Next, Teah faced friend and fellow Saskatchewan player Nhu Nguyen-Quach, who she beat 6-0, 6-0. In her final Round Robin match, Teah conquered the higher seeded Nicholson in a comeback victory 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.
Teah’s undefeated run in the group stage landed her in the Championship Flight. Here she faced tougher competition and lost a tight three-set match to Quebec’s Josie Usereau 2-6, 6-4, 6-2. Next, she was beaten by Alberta’s Nawal Youssef 6-3, 6-1, which placed her in a playoff for seventh. In her final singles match, she came up just short to Ontario’s Iulia Bucea, who won their match 6-2, 7-5, giving Teah a final placement of eighth.
In Girls Doubles Teah partnered Alberta’s Aurora Pedwell. The girls opened the event with a win over Saskatchewan-pair Charlie McNeil and Nhu Nguyen-Quach 6-0, 6-1. Next Teah’s team battled to an incredibly tight victory over the British Columbian team of Emily Dong and Isabelle Zhu 5-7, 7-6(2), 10-6 to reach the Quarter-Finals. There, they faced the number two seeds Scarlett Nicholson and Orly Ogilvy of Ontario, who overcame Teah and Aurora 6-2, 6-4.
For a full list of results, visit the event’s Tennis Canada Tournament Profile: Under 14 Rogers Indoor Junior Nationals
This event caps off an incredible indoor season for Teah, where she went undefeated in both our provincial indoor events. Teah continues to be one of Saskatchewan’s most impressive junior players. She clearly has a very bright future ahead of her in tennis and we at Tennis Saskatchewan can’t wait to see where she goes. Congratulations Teah on your incredible performance and sportsmanship!
Teah’s placement makes this the second year in a row where a player representing Saskatchewan placed in the top eight at nationals (revisit Keegan Rice’s 2018 performance here: Keegan Rice Places 8th at U12 Nationals). Tennis Saskatchewan is incredibly proud of the work put in by our players, their parents, and our provincial coaches. Tennis is trending upwards in Saskatchewan!
Photo Credit: Bo Mon Kwan
