Kwesi Mugisa, Staff ReportersTWO OF Jamaica's top players Demar Johnson and Dominic Pagon will not be a part of the Davis Cup team that travels to face the Dominican Republic in Santiago on February 10 as both players have been ruled out of the Group II tie due to collegiate commitments.
Johnson who had an excellent showing when the country turned back Cuba to remain in group two in July of last year, is currently in mid-season at the University of Louisville and has not been released by them to join the team. Pagon who attends the College of William and Mary in Virginia faces a similar situation.
SCHEDULES SET
"One of the problems is that the NCWA sets their schedules very far in advance, for example they have their 2007 schedule. The fixtures for next years Davis Cup will not be done until about September of next year," explained National Technical Director Douglas Burke, who will now turn to veterans Jermaine Smith and Scott Willinsky.
The pair who were a part of the team that lost to the Dominican Republic in a tie in March of last year, were dropped ahead of the encounter against Cuba as they were deemed to be unprepared for the encounter.
According to Burke, things are different this time around.
TRAINING HARD
"They have both been
training hard and Wilinsky is looking very good. It is on clay and it is not going to be our preferred surface but they have all played on it before and
have been practising on it,"
he commented.
"They are a lot more prepared now than they were then, and we are going into the tie with a lot of confidence." he said.
The team will be led by Ryan Russell in his 31st Davis Cup appearance and he has been preparing in the States with top coach Louis Cayer for the last three months. The full team will comprise Russell, Wilinsky, Smith and Elvis Henry.
The team, along with the
technical director, will leave the island tomorrow for the Dominican Republic where they will spend two days training at the Centro Español Stadium.
