CNMI jr. tennis players gain ranking points

Clayton Izuka returns to Vincent Tudela during their boys U14 singles semis match in the 6th Tan Holdings Tennis Classic last month at the Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan tennis courts.
(Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Tania Tan got the most points in NMITA’s first tournament for the 2014-2015 season after collecting 1,250. She took 1,000 points for topping the girls U14 singles and extra 250 for winning the doubles event (with Julia Ishikawa) in the same age group.

Malikawa Miyawaki, who placed second to Tan in the singles event, bagged 750 for her runner-up finish and added 150 to her total (900) for taking the third spot in the doubles (with Grace Choi). Joining Miyawaki and Tan for the Top 3 most point getters in the girls U14 division was Ami Tsukagoshi, who earned 800 points, 600 for her third place finish in the singles and 200 for her runner-up performance in the doubles.

Other players who got ranking points in the girls U14 division were Mimi Sakano (700), Choi (450), Conatsu Kaga (400), Asia Raulerson (250), and Ishikawa (250).

In the boys U14 division, Robbie Schorr led the list with 1,200 points with 1,000 coming from his title conquest in the singles event against Vincent Tudela and the 200 from his runner-up finish (with Steven Goodwin) in the doubles.

Tudela, who partnered with Tony Kim in beating Schorr and Goodwin in the doubles finale, gathered 1,000, while Kim notched 850. Five others claimed ranking points in the division: Ken Song (550); Clayton Izuka (500); Goodwin (500); A.J. Hudkins (350); and Haruya Eda (250).

In the U18 division, Moris Villanueva topped the charts after beating Tommy Choi in the finals. Villanueva was awarded 1,000 points, while Choi settled for 750. Luther Lizama and Mikayla Lopez, who finished fifth and third in the singles collected 650 and 600 points, respectively, while the fourth placer Negahr Rastguiy tallied 500. Lizama, who got 400 points in the singles, had additional 250 in the doubles as he and Michael Ren won the event against Colin Ramsey and Sunny Cho.

Ramsey matched Rastguiy’s 500 points after receiving 300 in the singles and 200 in the doubles, while Ren was the third player in the group to earn 500 points (250 each in the singles and doubles). Cho was given 350, Steve Lee received 200, and Eda gained 150.

Ranking points are needed to determine the CNMI’s representatives to the North Pacific Championships. Besides the Tan Holdings Tennis Classic, the Commonwealth’s bets will get points from three other competitions this season—Coconut Classic (February), Pacific Islands Club Tennis Championships (March), and the CNMI Junior Championships (April).