Jr. netters return from successful POJC stint

The CNMI Junior Tennis Team returned from Lautoka, Fiji, yesterday after showing one of their strongest performances in the Pacific Oceania Junior Championships at the Robin Mitchell Regional Tennis Centre in years.

“We had a great time in Fiji. The players of the North team showed a very strong performance and I believed this is one of our strongest showings in the POJC,” said CNMI coach Jeff Race, who arrived here Monday morning with Rafael Jones, Christian Miller, Dina Jones and Mayuko Arriola after staying in Fiji for more than two weeks.

The North squad, which was composed of netters from the CNMI, Guam and Kiribati was runner-up to the West team. In the last three years of the POJC, the North squad finished last. Individually, CNMI netters made their marks in the POJC, which took place at the Robin Mitchell Regional Tennis Centre in Lautoka.

“Ji Hoon gave us our best finish, making it to the No. 2 spot. Thea was third, Raffy was fourth, Christian was eight, Mayuko was fifth, and Dina played several tough matches,” Race said.

Race added Heo could have won the boys’ 18-under finals if he was not playing hurt. The CNMI top netter sprained his right ankle in New Caledonia in June, but still competed in POJC early this month.

“Before the POJC, Ji Hoon’s form, confidence, and fitness were in question. Mayuko and I played some games with him to get his form and confidence back. He was doing fine in the first two days of the tournament despite playing hurt. He is a smart player, he knows how to win despite his limitations,” Race said.

“But in the finals, he was really overpowered by Lorenzo Pineda of Vanuatu. Heo did not have the fitness to outclass Pineda and he was bothered by the condition of his fungal-infected feet. It was a combination of blisters and athletes’ foot,” Race added.

After the POJC, Heo played in the Oceania Closed Junior Championships and Race was quite impressed with the CNMI bet.

“He lost several tough matches, but he was the lone player from the Pacific who was not intimidated by players from Australia and New Zealand,” Race said.

In a doubles tournament, Heo teamed up with Fiji’s William O’Connell and made impressive showings against the Aussies and Kiwis with the CNMI netter reminding his teammate not to get intimidated by their world-ranked foes.

“One time, Ji Hoon was upset because William was reluctant with his game. The next day, a different William came out. He was less intimidated by Australian and New Zealand players,” Race added.

Race also had good words for Rafael and Miller.

He said Rafael trained so hard in summer and reaped the fruits of his hard labor in the first week of the tournament, placing third in the boys’ 13-under division.

“He was very impressive in his first tournament in Fiji. He was hitting those balls hard, giving the veterans a tough time,” Race said.

Miller was not at his peak in the first week during the POJC, but made his presence felt in the Oceania Plate tournament, moving into the finals against Fiji’s Devin Khatri.

Jones advanced to the semis of the Oceania Plate tournament, but lost to Miller . The two CNMI bets failed to play on the last day of the tournament, as they needed to catch a return flight to Saipan.

“I knew Christian wanted to play and win the match, but we could not make an arrangement to leave Fiji on Aug. 22, so we had to pack our things early and leave before the championship game,” Race said.

The title match was scheduled Wednesday morning and the CNMI netters left Lautoka early Wednesday morning.[B][I] (Roselyn B. Monroyo)[/I][/B]