44 join junior singles event of PIC tennis tourney

Forty-four players are entered in the junior singles event of the 15th PIC Tennis Championships, which will kick off this weekend at the Pacific Islands Club hard courts.

Luther Lizama, seen here returning a shot to Colin Ramsey in last month’s Coconut Tennis Classic at the AMP tennis courts, is among the junior players competing in this weekend’s 15th PIC Tennis Championships. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

The boys U14 singles drew the most participants with 12. Robbie Schorr, who won last month’s division crown in the Coconut Tennis Classic, is seeded first in the group, while Vincent Tudela is ranked second. Completing the list are Hyen Woo Chin, Jeffrey Seo, Ken Song, Allan Lee, Clayton Izuka, Haruya Eda, A.J. Hudkins, Tony Kim, Steven Goodwin, and Joshua Abragan.

Schorr, Tudela, Kim, and Song drew byes in the first round, while the opening round pairings will feature Chin vs. Seo, Lee vs. Izuka, Eda vs. Hudkins, and Goodwin vs. Abragan.

In the girls U14 singles, only six will contest the championship. Mimi Sakano leads the list, which also includes Grace Choi, Asia Raulerson, Julia Ishikawa, and Maliwa Miyawaki. Sakano and Miyawaki are the Top 2 seeds and automatically advanced to the semis. Choi and Raulerson will collide for the other semis berth in the top half of the bracket, while Kaga and Ishikawa will duel for the last Final Four ticket in the bottom half.

In the boys U18 singles, a round-robin format will be in effect as only Colin Ramsey, Woon Sun Cho, and Luther Lizama are entered in the event.

In the girls U18 singles, a regular draw will be implemented with seven players fighting for the division crown. Carol Lee and Mikayla Lopez, the finalists in last month’s Coconut Tennis Classic, are favored in the division and will be battle the championship against Isabel Heras, Julia Ishikawa, Tania Tan, Negahr Rastguiy, and Ami Tsukagoshi.

The boys U12 singles also lured seven players with Ji Min Woo earning a bye in the first round. The six remaining players will have their first game this Friday and Saturday and pairings are as follows: Rintaryo Miyawaki vs. Chris Kim; Daniel Kang vs. Sean Lee; and Paik Seung Jin vs. Aditya Rai.

In the girls U12 singles, Erie Ortega and Maayo Sato will kick off the competition this Friday when they square off at 3pm. The other first round matches will have Riko Ojima facing Ellie Epley, Tiara Imai challenging Maria Gregoire, and Soleil Lamar meeting Coume Kaga. Erika Tuttle is the top seed in the draw and got a bye in the first round.

Meanwhile, draws in the doubles and adults singles will be reported later this week.