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Tan Holdings tourney jumpstarts tennis season
Northern Mariana Islands Tennis Association president Jeff Race, left, poses with the younger division winners of the 7th Annual Tan Holdings Tennis Classic during its awards banquet held last Dec. 6 at the Hibiscus Hall of Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan.
(Roselyn B. Monroyo)
Northern Mariana Islands Tennis Association got off to a promising start after the staging of its first tournament for the 2015-2016 season—the 7th Annual Tan Holdings Tennis Classic.
The two-weekend tournament drew a huge turnout with Guam and Hong Kong players joining a host of Saipan bets. The annual competition also lured a lot of newcomers and family members together and a record 18 players in the mini tennis tourney. For the first time, results of the games were updated and posted in a website through the similar program used by the International Tennis Federation.
“This is a great start for CNMI tennis this season. I hope we could sustain it with more tournaments coming next year. It’s always great to see new players, especially younger ones, competing. They are the future of CNMI tennis,” NMITA president Jeff Race said during the awards ceremony for the 7th Annual Tan Holdings Tennis Classic held last Dec. 6 at the Hibiscus Hall of Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan.
“Thank you to tournament director Lydia Tan and to Jerry Tan of the Tan Holdings family. They’ve been with us in the past several years and are very supportive to our program. Thank you to the coaches, too, past and present, for helping develop our players,” Race added.
Meanwhile, Jerry Tan said they will continue to host an annual tournament for CNMI junior and adult players.
“As long as you want to play, we will have a tournament for you,” the Tan Holdings president said. “We are very proud to be part of one of the very successful sports programs on the island. Thanks to coach Jeff and to the parents of players who are always behind their children during practices and tournaments, bringing them to the court and picking them up after each game.”
After the Tan Holdings tournament, NMITA will have the Coconut Classic in February, the PIC Tennis Championships in March, the CNMI National Junior Championships in April, a Junior ITF ranking event in May, and the 2016 North Pacific Regional Championships. The group will also compete in the annual Pacific Oceania Junior Championships in Fiji in August.
