Bahamian Michael Major, Jr. of Brajaxba After School Tennis won the Boys’ 8’s category of the 18th Annual “Little Mo” International Jr. Championships held at the PGA Resort and Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida December 5-10, 2014. “Little Mo” is the most prestigious age group tennis championships in the United States and attracts the very best international players. The Championships feature the best boys and girls from around the world in their age groups, 8’s, 9’s, 10’s, 11’s and 12’s.
The Bahamas Team results were outstanding considering they went up against such ‘tennis power’ nations like Spain, France, Great Britain, Belgium, Argentina, Japan, Korea and China. The Bahamas was able to ascend to the podium to collect one of 16 singles championships, when countries with millions of people were on the sideline cheering.
Final results for The Bahamas team’s five players in their four categories were as follows:
Michael Major Jr. Boy’s 8 Singles Champion (Green dot)
Jacobi Bain Boy’s 11 Singles Semi-Finalist
Daniel Clivio Boy’s 9 Doubles Finalist
Emma Weech Girl’s 11 Consolation Singles Semi-finalist
Ryan Fox Boy’s 11 Consolation Singles Semi-finalist
The 18th “Little Mo” Internationals featured 43 countries from around world and 400-plus tennis players competing for the coveted “Little Mo” singles title in their age group. The Bahamas team was well represented.
The Championships were named after Maureen “Little Mo” Connolly, who was the first female to win the tennis grand slam for women in 1953 at the tender age of 18. She got the nickname “Little Mo” from a sports writer who claimed her forehand and backhand were as powerful as the big guns of the USS Missouri known as “Big Mo”. Unfortunately, her tennis career was cut short due to a horseback riding accident in 1954, which crushed her leg.
Following her recovery, she retired from tennis, got married and raised two daughters. In 1968, she established the Maureen Connolly-Brinker Tennis Foundation to provide tennis clinics and to assist juniors who could not afford to compete nationally. In 1969, at the very young age of 32, she died from cancer.
Her foundation today is run by her daughters and is thriving with success, hosting many tennis events in “Little Mo’s” honor.
Many winners of the “Little Mo” Championships have gone on to have stellar professional careers, most notably Andrew Stephen “Andy” Roddick, who won a grand slam tournament and became No. 1 in the world.
Members of the Brajaxba After School Tennis programme paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture the Hon. Dr. Daniel Johnson on Wednesday. Pictured at the courtesy call at the Ministry are, from left: Mrs. Clivio (Daniel’s mother); Mrs. Major (Michael’s mother); Jacobi Bain; Coach Bradley Bain of Brajaxba After School Tennis; Minister Daniel Johnson; Daniel Clivio (in front of Minister Johnson); Elwood Donaldson, president of the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association (BLTA); Michael Major, Jr. (in front of Mr. Donaldson); Kevin Colebrooke, Chief Recreation & Sports Officer, and Timothy Munnings, Director of Sports. (BIS Photo/Patrick Hanna)
