Written by: Christopher Simnett
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***Chris grew up playing tennis in B.C. and was ranked as high as No. 2 provincially in the U12 and U16 divisions. He played in two junior national championships in the 80s. Now 39 years old, he is the “community champion” for the Tennis Canada Building Tennis Communities strategy in Airdrie, AB, where he lives with his wife and eight-year-old son. Chris spent 15 years as a journalist writing about sports for newspapers in B.C. and Alberta. He now works in public relations in Calgary. To learn more about Chris and his blog, please visit www.alltennis.ca***
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Matthew Erdman is the top seed for the Ontario boys’ Under-16 provincials, which begin March 11 at the Parkside Tennis Club in Windsor. Erdman takes on Vahagn Tonakanian in the first round.
Robert Shulman is seeded second and battles Christopher Fletcher in the first round. Paul John is seeded third, Daniel Hoang fourth, Alejandro Tabilo fifth, Penfield Binet sixth, Daniel Tsimerman seventh and Andres Olave eighth.
Gloria Liang is the top-seed in the U16 girls’ event at the Ontario Racquet Club in Oakville/Mississauga. Liang plays Victoria Dimuzio in the first round at noon on March 11. Louise Kwong is seeded second and takes on Sara Krupica in the first round at 4 p.m. on March 11. Joulia Likhanskaia is seeded third, Hannah Atkinson is fourth, Charlotte Petrick is seeded fifth, Iana Nikolaeva is sixth, Catherine Shulman is seventh and Gracia Mboko is seeded eighth.
Vanessa Wong is the first seed in the U12 girls’ event at Toronto’s Mayfair East Racquet Club and takes on Anna Cracium in the first round. Natasha Irani is the second seed and battles Alexandra Arkhipov in the first round. Sofia Zecevic is seeded third, Nina Zhang is fourth, Ines Milosevic is fifth, Brindtha Ramasamy is sixth, Darya Maltseva is seventh and Sophie Bui is seeded eighth.
Jack Mingjie Lin leads the field in the boys’ U12 division, also being played at Mayfair East. The top seeded Lin battles Nick Lagaev in the first round. Denis Shapovalov is seeded second and faces Daniel Tudor in the first round.
Aleksandar Petrovic is seeded third, Marwan Shebi is fourth, Ivan Mitric is seeded fifth, Tyler O’Meara is sixth, Ron Singer is seventh and Daniel Fainblum is seeded eighth.
Action in all events wraps up on Sunday afternoon.
