(Provided by Tennis World USA)
Natalia Aparicio winner of the individual women’s competition, Bruno Frontero fourth in the men’s, and the blue quartet, which also included the Geneva Cup and Federico Randazzo, silver in the team rankings in the 28th edition of the European Young Masters, in which 30 selections took part national teams and which is considered a sort of European championship for Under 16s.
European Young Masters, results
On the course of the Sedin Golf Resort (par 73), in Veľké Úľany in Slovakia, Natalia Aparicio finished with 208 (68 70 70, -11) shots becoming the fourth Italian to win the women’s individual, twenty-five years after Diana Luna who had signed the tender in 1998 preceded by Barbara Paruscio, in the inaugural event of 1995, and by Giulia Sergas (1997).Second after one round, Aparicio took the lead in the middle lap by two strokes over France’s Marie Elodie Prats-Rigual and Norway’s Henriette Spilling Gjelten.In the third round he kept up the pace and with a 70 (-3, six birdies, a bogey, a double bogey) he brought the margin on Prats-Riguals (211, -8) to three strokes, while Gjelten lost, dropped to seventh place (217, -2), overtaken by the German Antonia Steiner and the Irish Olivia Costello, third with 214 (-5), by the Finnish June Weckman, fifth with 215 (-4), and by the transalpine Kirra St.
Laurent, sixth with 216 (-3). In 20th position Geneva Cup with 223 (71 75 77, +4), which gave its contribution to the silver won by the quartet.In the team competition, where the team’s best three results out of four days were counted for the classification, Italy concluded with 643 (208 219 216, -14) preceded by France (639, -18) and brilliantly containing the comeback attempt by Spain, third with 647 (-10).
In fourth position England (653, -4) and in fifth Belgium (656, -1).In the men’s individual tournament tonic performance by Bruno Frontero, fourth with 217 (73 74 70, -2), who came close to the podium after a comeback that started from 14th place, passing through tenth in the second round.
The other blue Federico Randazzo finished 16th with 225 (69 80 76, +6).The title was held by the Englishman Ben Bolton with 208 (70 71 67, -11), who left the Icelandic Markus Marelsson (214, -5) within six strokes. In third place with 216 (-3) the Spaniard Raul Gomez, while Frontero shared the position with the Swiss Yannick Beeli and the French Hugo LeGoff and Oscar Couilleau.
The Italian team was accompanied by Alain Vergari, Deputy Technical Commissioner of the Men’s National Amateur Team, and by Captain Giovanni Bartoli.In addition to the successes in the women’s individual, Italy has won the Nation’s Cup four times (1997, 1998, 2007, 2012) and obtained three men’s individual titles with Roberto Paolillo (1997), Matteo Manassero (2007) and Renato Paratore ( 2012).
In victories by nation, the Azzurri were joined in third place by France. In this special ranking, Spain is at the top with eight victories, followed by Germany with seven, then the Czech Republic with three, Finland and Sweden with one.
