Lee sweeps U14 singles titles in Fiji

The CNMI players and coach Jeff Race, right, pose for a photo at the conclusion of the 2014 Pacific Oceania Junior Championships in Fiji last Wednesday. (Contributed Photo)

Lee earned her second girls U14 singles championships after sweeping New Caledonia’s Lea Bolo in the finals, 7-6 (2), 6-1. Incidentally, Lee also topped Bolo, 6-0, 6-2, in the first week of POJC with the tournament having a pool play format before going into the playoffs. In the second week of the annual event, all U14 players were placed in a 16-player draw with Lee on the upper bracket and getting the top seed.

In the POJC Event 2, Lee, who did not drop a single set in Event 1, extended her streak with a 6-0, 6-0 win over fellow CNMI player Tania Tan in the quarterfinals. Lee then gave up a point to Vanuatu’s Emma Maucotel in the semis, but still won, 6-0, 6-1, to take the finals berth in the top half of the draw. At the bottom, Bolo swept American Samoa’s Lessei Perelini, 6-0, 6-0, and Fiji’s Ruby Coffin, 6-2, 6-0, to set a title duel against Lee and a third meeting against the CNMI bet. Lee first played Bolo in a tournament in Australia early this year and lost before beating the New Caledonia player in two straight competitions.

Besides Lee and Tan, the Commonwealth had two other entries in the girls U14 singles with Julia Ishikawa and Ami Tsukagoshi bowing to American Samoa’s Michelle Miller, 7-6 (5), 7-5, and Perelini, 6-3, 7-6 (3), respectively, in the quarterfinals. Ishikawa then redeemed himself in the consolation bracket and prevailed in the finals against Fiji’s Shristi Nadan, 6-0, 6-0. Ishikawa marched into the finals after a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Tsukagoshi, while Nadan edged compatriot Namratta Nand in the other semis tiff, 2-4, 6-4, 10-8.

In other results, Malika Miyawaki finished in the Top 3 in the girls U12 singles, while Robbie Schorr made it to the semifinals of the same age group.

Miyawaki worked out a 7-6 (3), 2-6, 10-6 win over third-ranked Eleanor Schuster in the battle for third place.

“She had a fantastic comeback from 1-5 down in the first set to take it 7-6 and won the super-tiebreaker,” CNMI coach Jeff Race said in an email to Saipan Tribune.

Miyawaki was joined in the Top 3 by eventual champion Naia Guitton and runner-up Lea Lamorelle. Guitton won the all-Tahiti finals, 6-0, 6-1, and earlier downed Miyawaki in the semifinals, 6-0, 6-2. Miyawaki marched into the semis after ousting American Samoa’s Crystal Christman in the upper half of the draw, 6-2, 6-3. In the lower half, Miyawaki’s teammates, Conatsu Kaga and Asia Raulerson, fell to Schuster, 5-7, 3-6, and Vanuatu’s Rosalie Molballeh, 2-6, 4-6, respectively, to drop to the consolation draw. Raulerson went on to rule the consolation bracket after topping Vanuatu’s Marion Hymak in the finals, 6-1, 6-0.

In the boys U12 singles, Schorr remained in the main draw and made it to the semifinals after sweeping Vanuatu’s Samuel Strid, 6-3, 6-1. In the semis, Schorr was pitted against the top-ranked Gilliant Osmont and lost, 1-6, 1-6. Osmont ruled the event after prevailing against Vanuatu’s Clement Mainguy in the finals, 4-6, 2-6.

Ken song was also entered in the boys U12 singles and after falling short in his first match against Samoa’s Phillip Warren, 2-6, 6-2, 1-10, the CNMI bet won the consolation draw. Song defeated Tonga’s Tuapasi Afemui, 6-0, 6-2, and Guam’s Andrew Leng, 6-4, 6-2, to top the group.

In the boys U16 singles, Colin Ramsey entered the quarterfinal round, while in the boys U14 singles, Luther Lizama dropped his Round of 8 match. Lizama, who drew a bye in the first round, lost to Samoa’s Harley Cronin, 1-6, 1-6, while Ramsey slipped past Fiji’s Krishnan Raju, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, to make in to the quarterfinals. Ramsey then bowed to the top-ranked Kevin Maukoloa of American Samoa, 1-6, 0-6.

Meanwhile, with the POJC Event 2 concluding, the CNMI Junior Tennis Team are leaving Fiji with two gold medals (courtesy of Lee) and one bronze (Miyawaki) in singles and one two golds in doubles (from Ishikawa and Tan in the girls 14/12 and Robbie Schorr with partner Camden Camacho of Guam).

“Although six of the CNMI’s best players, including Tammy Ackerman, Negahr Rastguiy, Moris Villanueva, Michael Ren, and Isabel Heras, did not play in this year’s POJC, the CNMI still finished a remarkable third out of the 14 nations that sent players to the event. Well done to this year’s team,” Race said.