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Thea heading to Nationals
Former CNMI junior tennis player Thea Minor is going to the National Junior College Athletic Association Division 1 National Championships next month in Tucson, Arizona.
The CNMI’s Thea Minor, right, poses with her New Mexico Military Institute teammates, Fiji’s Lorraine Banimataku, left, and Federated States of Micronesia’s Amanda Hawkins during a training session in New Mexico early this year.
(Contributed Photo)
Minor and her three other teammates at New Mexico Military Institute—Fiji’s Lorraine Banimataku, Federated States of Micronesia’s Amanda Hawkins, and Papua New Guinea’s Lorish Puluspene—made the grade for the season-ending competition after finishing at No. 12 in the national rankings.
“Making it to the nationals is a great accomplishment since we do not have a full team. I am excited to play my first nationals and compete in a higher level against the best junior colleges. We are hoping to get great results and give everything we have,” the Bronco rookie said in a message sent to Saipan Tribune yesterday.
Minor’s squad, which is coached by former Pacific Oceania Junior ITF development officer Dan O’Connell, is one of the few teams in NCJAA with a depleted lineup. Usually, squads have at least eight players on their roster.
Despite their limited manpower, the Bronco recorded significant victories this season. The recent one was against National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics’ University of Southwest with NMMI pulling off a 5-4 victory.
Minor and company also played in the regionals last week in Plano, Texas with the Commonwealth pride beating No. 13-ranked Juliana Hess of Collin College, 6-0, 6-1 and No. 40-ranked Alexandria Rodriguez of North Central Texas College, 6-0, 6-0.
In the doubles, Minor and Banimataku also won over the sixth-ranked pair of Amy Leui and Kathy Foster of North Central Texas College, bouncing back from a first-set loss to stun their favored foes. Leui and Foster took the first set by three points, 6-3, but the NMMI pair swept the last two, 6-2, 10-3, to steal the victory. Minor and Banimataku’s second win in the regionals was recorded against the University of Southwest tandem of Lesley Rodriguez and Jacinda Hatfield, 8-3.
With her recent successes, Minor is heading into the nationals ranked No. 15 in singles, seven notches higher than her earlier rankings. In doubles, she and Banimataku are ranked at No. 10.
