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5 gain q’finals slots in mixed-up doubles
Five pairs notched quarterfinals berths in the mixed up doubles event in the 2015 Coconut Tennis Classic.
At the top half of the 40-team main draw, Moris Villanueva and Haruya Eda led the Round of 8 cast. The two junior players advanced to the quarterfinals after posting twin wins over the weekend at the American Memorial Park tennis courts. They first edged fellow junior bets Mikayla Lopez and Erika Tuttle, 2-6, 6-3, 12-10, before sweeping Randy Steele and Asia Raulerson, 6-0, 6-2.
Joining Villanueva and Eda in the quarterfinals of the upper bracket were Luke Beling and Elie Ortega, Steven Goodwn and Jamin Elliot, and Michael Ren and Conatsu Kaga.
Beling and Ortega took a longer route to march into the Round of 8, bagging three wins. They topped Tisha Ferrer and Jeffrey Seo, 6-2, 6-1, beat Dong Min Lee and Rintaro Miyawaki, 7-6, 7-6, and survived Vincent Tudela and Coume Kaga, 7-6, 5-7, 10-7. Ortega and Beling will be paired against Villanueva and Eda in the quarterfinals, which will be played this weekend.
Steven Goodwin, seen here serving during a singles match in the 2015 Coconut Tennis Classic last Saturday at the AMP tennis courts, teamed up with Jamin Elliot and advanced to the quarterfinals of the mixed-up doubles. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)
The other Round of 8 pairing in the upper bracket are Goodwin-Elliot versus Ren-Kaga. The tandem of Kaga and Ren made it to the quarterfinals following their victories over Marivic Rosario and Riko Ojima, 6-0, 6-3, and Carol Lee and Gang Min Kim, 7-5, 6-3. Goodwin and Elliot needed an extra set to prevail in its last match and move into the next round as they slipped past Peter Loken and Tiara Imai, 5-7, 6-4, 10-7. Earlier in their first game, Elliot and Goodwin swept Ami Tsukagoshi and Daniel Kang, 6-3, 6-2, while Imai and Loken downed Alex Martin and Anthony Gregoire, 6-2, 6-1, and Tania Tan and Ken Song, 4-6, 3-6, 10-6, to notch Round of 16 berth.
Meanwhile, at the bottom half of the bracket, the pair of Jeff Race and Richard Steele was the first team to earn a quarterfinals seat. The duo collected three wins to stay in contention, prevailing first against Maaya Sato and Ryan Cho, 6-1, 6-3. The coach and his student then defeated Sakiko Eda and Joshua Abragan, 6-2, 6-4, and Jack McClure and Grace Choi, 6-3, 6-1, to make it to the quarterfinals.
The three remaining quarterfinals berth were contested by the teams of Eric Abragan-Robbie Schorr; Luther Lizama-Aaron Lee; Colin Ramsey-Bob Kim; Fr. Ryan Jimez-Mimi Sakano; Martin-Hyejin Elliot; and Negahr Rastguiy-Malika Miyawaki.
Miyawaki and Ratguiy won over Nicky Nichols and A.J. Hudkins, 6-1, 6-4, to advance against Elliot and Martin, a 6-1, 6-3 winner versus Sharka and Elie Epley. Jimene and Sakano also took two sets to beat Sunny Cho and Eugene Park, 6-2, 6-00, and arrange a Round of 16 date with Ramsey and Kim, who eliminated Lydia Tam and Eubin Park, 6-4, 6-3.
The duos of Abragan and Schorr and Lizama and Lee also swept their respective foes to set up their battle for one of the three remaining quarterfinals tickets. Lizama and Lee made short work of Julia Ishikawa and Soleil Lamar, 6-2, 7-5, while Abragan and Schorr eased past Dylan Ackerman and Hyu Woon Chin, 6-1, 6-1.
