The 2026 Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Senior Table Tennis Championships, hosted at the newly renovated Table Tennis Pavilion in Santo Domingo’s Parque del Este, have delivered standout performances from two of Saint Lucia’s top young competitors, marking a promising milestone for the island nation’s table tennis program this week.
Leading the Saint Lucian contingent was 21-year-old DeAndre Calderon, a right-handed player hailing from Corinth, Gros Islet, who recently returned to regional competition after competing with his club team in Germany. Competing in Group 13 of the men’s singles draw, Calderon secured second place in group play to advance to the knockout rounds. His group stage run included a confident 3-1 win over Barbados’ Mark Dowell, with set scores of 11-8, 11-3, 8-11, 11-7, a 3-1 defeat of Guyana’s Niran Bissu (11-3, 6-11, 11-6, 11-5), and a hard-fought 3-0 loss to top-ranked host nation competitor Isaac Vila.
In the Round of 32 knockout stage, Calderon delivered a polished performance to defeat Costa Rica’s Gabriel Quiros 4-1, wrapping up the match with set results of 14-12, 12-10, 11-4, 8-11, 11-4. His impressive run ultimately came to a close in the Round of 16 on the evening of April 14, where he fell 4-1 to Cuba’s highly ranked Jorge Campos, who took sets 11-6, 11-3, 8-11, 11-6, 11-7.
Fifteen-year-old LeShon Francis, one of the youngest athletes to qualify for the senior draw and a already a qualifier for the Pan Am Senior Championships, turned heads with his own strong performance that earned him a spot in the Round of 32. Competing in Group 3, the left-handed prospect also finished second in group play, notching a clean 3-0 sweep of Barbados’ Ramario Gill (11-5, 20-18, 11-9) and a 3-1 win over Trinidad & Tobago’s Anson Lowkie (7-11, 11-6, 11-1, 11-5), with his only group stage loss coming to Mexico’s Marcos Madrid via 3-0 sweep. Francis’ run ended in the Round of 32 with a 4-1 defeat to Guatemala’s Ricardo Gatica.
Third Saint Lucian men’s competitor Manie Eleuthere finished fourth in Group 12, dropping all three of his group stage matches in 3-0 sweeps to Rafael Cabrera of the Dominican Republic, Shemar Britton of Guyana, and Gabriel Quiros of Costa Rica.
All three of Saint Lucia’s women’s singles competitors faced tough draws in their group stage campaigns. Shatal Charles dropped two 3-1 matches, falling to familiar opponent Stuti Kashyap of Antigua & Barbuda and host nation player Yasiris Ortiz. Zarianne Anthony was defeated in 3-0 sweeps by Guatemala’s Lucia Cordero and Mexico’s Monica Munoz, while Cherese Darcheville fell to three higher-ranked opponents: Mexico’s Marbella Aceves, El Salvador’s Cristina Machado, and Cuba’s Karla Perez Gonzalez, all via 3-0.
In doubles competition, the only Saint Lucian match win came from the mixed doubles pairing of Calderon and Anthony, who earned a 3-0 sweep (11-6, 12-10, 12-10) over Trinidad & Tobago’s pair of Josiah Joseph and Imani Taylor-Edwards, before falling 3-0 to Cuba’s Adrian Perez and Estela Crespo. All other doubles campaigns ended in opening-round defeats: Charles and Francis lost to their Puerto Rican opponents, the women’s doubles pair of Charles and Anthony dropped their opening match, and the men’s doubles team of Eleuthere and Francis also exited in their first match. The tournament kicked off with men’s and women’s singles play on April 13, with doubles launching the following day, and finals for all disciplines scheduled for April 15.