Tennis upset gets Lac St. Louis their first gold

After outdoing the Laval and Chaudiere-Appalaches teams, Lac. St. Louis’ five-member squad, lead by coach Mathieu Sarrazin, defeated Outaouais to reach the top spot in Group B.

The feat was so unexpected, Lac St. Louis’ coach did not have any medal-hopes before leaving the West Island, notably because of the loss of the team’s sixth player, Sid Donarski of Mont Royal.

Coincidentally, the Outaouais team was also missing one player due to injury. The final was played out in four single matches and two doubles.

On the girls’ side, Ariane Joly of Lachine lost her match in two sets, both at 6 to 2. While Stefanie Puistonen of Dollard des Ormeaux won her second set 6 to 2, she lost the match in three, being defeated in the first set, 6 to 0, and 6 to 1 in the last.

On the boys’ side, Younes Chebihi of Lasalle trounced his opponent 6 to 0 in two sets. It was almost a carbon copy for Thomas Susen of Dollard, who also beat his opponent in two sets.

In the doubles, while the Lac St. Louis girls lost their game 8 to 1, the boys overwhelmed the Outaouais teams with a 8-0 victory.

At the end of the day, the two teams tied in match wins, and the decision was left up to how many sets each squad walked away with. Winning only one more than Outaouais, Lac St. Louis walked away victorious. “It was thanks to Stefanie that we won. She came back strong after losing her first set 6 to 0,” said Sarrazin. The match wins by Chebihi and Susen were also determining factors in Lac St. Louis’ victory, he added.

The Lac St. Louis tennis team’s win is not only the first gold for the region at this year’s Quebec Games; it also guarantees the squad will move into Group A for the next competition.