The rising star of women's tennis in Bermuda, Ashley Brooks, showed the region why she is just that, winning the girls' singles title in the International Tennis Federation's (ITF) Caribbean 14-and-Under Developmental Championships last weekend in St. Vincent.

The Bermudian top seed overpowered Trinidadian Delaney Brittany 6-2, 6-3 in Saturday's final to lift the championship.

Earlier, she had won her semi-final 6-0, 6-4. The victory was a step up for Brooks who won the consolation round in last year's tournament. Bermuda's Sasha Fisher was third in 2001.

"Ashley was outstanding. Her game was at a much higher level than her opponents. The experience she is getting at tennis school (Dennis Van Der Meer Tennis University in South Carolina) has made a difference and it served her well. Obviously, she is being exposed to tougher competition than she is used to in Bermuda and it's paying dividends," said team coach Howard Cross.

The 14-year-old's success was not all the Island had to celebrate as Bermuda finished third in the team race with 25 points. They were just one point behind second-placed Surinam while favourites Trinidad and Tobago, led by boys' singles champion Michael Clarke, won the team title with 36 points.

David Thomas and Kris Frick also showed the Island's boys have improved over last year, placing fourth and fifth respectively in the singles chase. Bermuda's representatives last year finished ninth and tenth (Frick).

Thomas lost his semi-final 6-2, 6-4 and also went down in the third and fourth position play-off.

Interestingly Frick, who lost in round one, had beaten the eventual winner, Clarke, in the preliminary round-robin competition - 6-2, 6-4 - and was the only player to defeat the Trinidadian in the entire tournament.

He and Thomas also lost their boys' doubles semi-final in three sets after a flying start. They won the first set 6-3 and were up 4-0 in the second set before falling in a tie-breaker 8-6.

The other member of the squad, Jasmine Quinn, withdrew from competing after pulling a muscle in her neck in practice.

"There has been a lot of improvement and I am proud of these players. With a bit more luck we could have done even better but overall it was a good and it shows our players are getting better and the time they are spending on the court is paying off," said Cross.