TeamBath Tennis Academy player Samm Butler won his first Tennis Europe event by taking the boys’ under-14 doubles title at the Kaleva Open in Finland.

Playing in Oulu on the edge of the Arctic Circle, Butler and partner Tom Coluatti beat the Russian top seeds Nikita Zverkov and Michail Galyamov 6-1, 6-3 in the final to take the title.

Butler also performed well in the singles. After winning his qualifying round match he battled his way to the final of the main draw before going down 6-2, 6-2 to Italy’s Nicholas Compagnucci.

Ian Macdonald, Butler’s coach at the TeamBath Tennis Academy, said: “It was a fantastic week for Samm. He deserves much credit for doing the business on the match court.”

Meanwhile in Sweden TeamBath Tennis Academy player Chris Helliar reached his first ITF World Junior Tour singles final at the Kramfors Junior Challenge.

Helliar was unseeded but reached the final before going down 6-2, 6-2 to number two seed Tobias Blomgren from Sweden.

Ashley Hewitt reached the quarter-finals of the Uruguay Bowl in Montevideo, but lost 6-2, 5-7 to Shuichi Sekiguchi of Japan.

The University of Bath has one of the leading university sports departments in the UK. Under its TeamBath brand, its success is based on the expertise and dedication of staff, and its excellent facilities, used by the community and Olympic medal winners alike.

Members of the media who require further information can contact the TeamBath Press Office at Matchtight Ltd on (01225) 383518 or 01225 443998 or see the TeamBath website at www.teambath.com

Posted: Friday 27th March 2009