The Maltese girls taking part in Group III Pool A the past week, finished ninth out of 12 nations taking part.

In the qualifying round, Malta lost 3-0 to Egypt and Turkey, but in the placings event, Malta beat Iceland 3-0.

There was a setback for the team as in the first match against Egypt, No. 1 Lisa Camenzuli was injured and had to retire when she was losing 5-2 in the first set. She did not play against in the remaining matches.

MTA president Tony Cilia Pisani said yesterday the result against Iceland was significant as the victory provided a boost for the team on the eve of the Small Nations Games in Andorra, where both sides will probably face each other again.

Stephanie Sullivan’s 6-3 6-3 defeat of Sigurlaud Sigurdardottir was an excellent result as the local youngster’s opponent is ranked around 300 in the world.

Asked when Lisa Camenzuli’s presence in Andorra was in doubt because of this injury, Cilia Pisani said: “Lisa will be OK. It was only fatigue and had been injured since she lost the Malta final to Tanya Jukic a few days ago.”

The results

Egypt 3, Malta 0

Aliaa Fakhry, Egypt, def. Lisa Camenzuli, Malta, 5-2, retired.

Nihal Saleh, Egypt, def. Stephanie Pace, Malta, 6-0, 6-1.

Aliaa Fakhry and Eshak Miray, Egypt, def. Stephanie Pace and Stephanie Sullivan, Malta, 7-6 (2), 7-5.

Turkey 3, Malta 0

Pemra Ozgen, Turkey, def. Stephanie Pace, Malta, 6-0, 6-1.

Ipek Senoglu, Turkey, def. Stephanie Sullivan, Malta, 6-4, 1-6, 6-2.

Cagla Buyukakcay and Pemra Ozgen, Turkey, def. Stephanie Pace and Stephanie Sullivan, Malta, 6-2, 6-0.

Place 9-12

Malta 3, Iceland 0

Stephanie Pace, Malta, def. Rebekka Petursdottir, Iceland, 6-0, 6-0.

Stephanie Sullivan, Malta, def. Sigurlaug Sigurdardottir, Iceland, 6-3, 6-2.

Stephanie Pace and Stephanie Sullivan, Malta, def. Rebekka Petursdottir and Sigurlaug Sigurdardottir, Iceland, 7-6 (3), 6-3.