No slowing down for Cuthills tennis season
April 2nd, 2008, 11:14 pm Hobbies News
He has mixed with the best tennis players in the country at the New Zealand Residentials, he has played tournaments in Australia, he has been the No 1 seed for the Southern Districts senior tennis team and, most recently, he has taken out the Southland senior open mens singles title.
And hes only 19.
Cuthill is studying finance and accounting at the University of Otago and, unlike many athletes who give up competitive sport when they leave high school, he has stayed with it and plans to continue his involvement in tennis for years to come.
%26quot;I just want to keep improving as well as I can and just keep going with it,%26quot; he said.
%26quot;Ill probably go to Australia in the mid-semester break (and) play tournaments over there. Theres no tournaments here in the winter time so you have to go away.%26quot; Cuthill described his debut in the New Zealand Residentials late last year as a good experience, although he didnt get to play out the tournament.
After making the consolation semi-finals he had to head home because of the way his flights worked out.
Cuthills win in the Southland senior open last weekend, where he represented the Queens Park tennis club, was the teenagers first in the tournament.
%26quot;I was pleased with it. I have come down to it (the tournament) quite a bit %26mdash; the last three years %26mdash; this is the first year Ive won it. The final (where Cuthill beat Gilles de Gouy 6-4 4-6 6-4) was probably the closest (game).%26quot; Cuthill also teamed with South Canterburys Steve Dries and lost narrowly in the doubles final 6-4 6-7 10-8.
The Southland born-and-raised tennis talent also posted impressive results last year, winning the consolation under-18 singles at the Rod Laver Queensland junior open and making the quarter-finals of the Auckland spring senior open.
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