MEMBER OF THE BAHAMAS JUNIOR DAVIS CUP TEAM. Donte Armbrister. (Photo by Dr. Samuel L. Rutherford)

Donte Armbrister, a ninth grade student at Temple Christian High School, was 1 of 6 Bahamians selected to represent the Bahamas on the Junior Davis Cup tennis team at the 2016 Junior Davis Cup/Junior Fed Cup North/Central America & Caribbean Pre-Qualifying Tournament in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic. As reported in Nassau Guardian, “the Junior Davis Cup team of Donte Armbrister, Kofi Bowe, and Yorgos Karageorgiou suffered a tough loss to Barbados on Thursday. In the opening match, Bowe fell to Romani Mayers, 6-2 and 6-4. Armbrister played well and won over Kyle Frost, 6-3 and 6-3, but in the deciding doubles match, the team of Armbrister and Bowe fell to Mayers and Frost, 6-1, 5-7 and 11-9 tiebreak” (The Nassau Guardian Online, Feb. 2, 2016).

 
According to Donte, “our first match against Jamaica was a little tough but we beat them in the series 2-1. Then, we had to play the defending champions from last year Aruba. We lost the series 3-0 but some of the matches were tight, and my match against the number one player - Patrick Shadow, he’s ranked 200 in ITF – was a good match to see where my level was at and I think I did pretty well.” When asked about his selection to the junior Davis Cup team, he noted that “we go based on rankings – our local and national rankings.” Donte also noted that “right now it [balancing tennis with his academic commitments] is a little bit challenging, but I just have to learn how to stay focused with school and manage my time very well. After school, I go to afternoon classes, and after afternoon classes I put in at least 2 hours into tennis and then the rest is for school. I only have one national team event coming up – it’s in El Salvador in August for Under-16s. I am trying to focus more on my school work [with the approach of BJCs], and reducing some of my tennis lessons.”

 
As a scholar-athlete, Donte is setting a fine example for other young students to follow. As we highlight his accomplishments, we also wish him continued success in the future.