Jacklyn Lambert, the coach of Bermuda Under-14 girls, heaped praise on her players after they qualified for the main draw at the WJT North/Central America and Caribbean Pre-Qualifying tournament in the Dominican Republic yesterday.

Bermuda won 2-1 against El Salvador to clinch group C honours and advance to the knockout stage of the tournament with an unblemished 2-0 record.

The two teams split the singles matches to set up a winner-takes-all in the doubles match that Kaylah Ming and Imani Phillips won against rivals Valentina Cruz and Katia Ramirez 6-2, 6-2 to see Bermuda through.

“The girls showed great doubles skills and communicated throughout the entire match,” Lambert said.

“They encouraged each other when they made mistakes and congratulated each other when they hit a winner.

“They both showed outstanding energy at the net and kept El Salvador off their game throughout.”

Bermuda Under-14 girls will look to continue their winning ways when they face Jamaica today in the main draw.

“The heart these girls showed today shows that they are ready to take on any country they get and leave everything on the court,” Lambert added.

Phillips, playing in the No 2 slot, claimed Bermuda’s sole victory in singles play after prevailing 6-1, 6-2 against Ramirez.

“Imani went on the court ready to put whatever she had into the match and slowed her opponent’s game right down,” Lambert said.

“She used all the variety in her game and won in two straight sets, giving the team a great start.”

Bermuda squandered a chance to clinch the tie with a match to spare after Ming, the team’s No 1 player, lost her singles contest against Cruz 3-6, 6-2, 5-7 in a gruelling affair spanning nearly three hours.

“Kaylah left nothing on the court,” Lambert added.

Bermuda girls defeated Curacao, who also advanced to the main draw, 2-1 in their opening group match to get their campaign off to a flying start.

There was plenty of cause for celebration among the Island’s under-14 girls’ team but the same could not be said for the under-14 boys’ team of Trey Mallory, Ben Lines and Tego Bean whose hopes of reaching the main draw were dashed.

Bermuda’s hopes of advancing remained intact despite losing against Bahamas 2-1 in their final group B tie.

All Bermuda required to progress was to win a set in their doubles match with Nicaragua which was postponed the day before. But all hope was lost after they went down 2-6, 4-6.

“It was a tough day for the boys,” Gavin Manders, the Bermuda coach, said.

Bermuda Under-14 boys completed the group stage with a 1-2 record, with their sole victory arriving against Nicaragua. The team, which will look to salvage pride in a play-off to determine ninth through sixteenth, face Honduras today.