T&T's girls had a rough start to their Fed Cup campaign when they lost all three of their matches to Guatemala in Group A of the Americas Group II Round Robin in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on Monday night.
In the opening game, BG T&T Tranquility Open champion Breana Stampfli lost to Daniela Schippers 6-2, 6-2 before Lee Ann Lingo, still recovering from a pinched nerve in her shoulder, went down 6-0, 6-0 to Kirsten-Andrea Weedon. Stampfli then paired with Fed Cup debutante Trevine Sellier in a 6-3, 6-2 loss to Schippers and her sister Paulina. The team's most experienced player, multiple national champion Carlista Mohammed sat out of the first round.
Leading into the tournament, T&T were ranked 65th in the world while Guatemala stood at 59th. In other Group A results, Puerto Rico beat the hosts 2-1 while in Group B, Venezuela trounced Bahamas 3-0 and Ecuador whipped Costa Rica 3-0. The top two teams from each group will advance to the knockout phase with the winners of the two semifinals bring promoted to American Zone Group I next year.
