Bahamian tennis player Shannon Francis recently shone brightly for the Prairie State College Pioneers in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).
The 18-year-old collegiate freshman helped the Pioneers win the conference and regional titles this season. He said: "My teammates and I had to start our singles with the other team having a 3-0 lead due to the late arrival at the match. Also, we were not allowed to have a warm-up so it was a challenge for me because I went down 5-0 in my match. Then, I finally warmed up and won seven straight games. The second set was a breeze and I am just happy that despite the other team having a lead my team and I came out with the win."
Francis' final match score was 7-5 and 6-1, as the No. 3 singles player for Prairie State. On the doubles side, he and his teammate Daniel Diaz won easily, 6-2 and 6-1.
Also in tennis, Bahamian Dylan Walker who hails from Eleuthera and attends Missouri Baptist University, was instrumental in his college winning in their conference finals. Walker and teammates will now head to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Championships in Mobile, Alabama, which will be a historic first in the history of Missouri Baptist University tennis.
Sophomore Walker had two major comeback wins to help the Missouri Baptist Spartans prevail over the Missouri Valley College Vikings and the Baker University Wildcats. In his first match against the Vikings, he dropped the first set 4-6 before coming back to win the final two sets, 6-0 and 6-2. In his second match of the day, against Baker, Walker won 6-2, 4-6 and 6-4. The Bahamian trailed 2-4 in the third set before coming back to win the final four games.
Walker's coach said: "Dylan played like a boss."
Before this season, Missouri Baptist had only one conference tournament win in program history. Now, they've advanced to the NAIA nationals for the first time in program history. The NAIA National Tennis Championships are set for May 17-21 in Mobile, Alabama.
The Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association (BLTA) and the tennis community of The Bahamas congratulates both Francis and Walker on their excellent play for their respective colleges in conference tournaments, and wish them great success in the future. Both have represented their country on a national level, and the future looks bright for these two Bahamian tennis athletes.
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