Previous Story
Lee joins Pacific Oceania Junior Fed Cup Team
From left, the CNMI’s Carol Lee, Tahiti’s Naia Guitton, and Fiji’s Vienna Kumar pose for a photo in India, the host of this year’s 2016 Junior Fed Cup by BNP Paribas Asia/Oceania Final Qualifying. (Oceania Tennis Federation)
For the second straight year, the CNMI is represented in the Pacific Oceania Junior Fed Cup Team.
Carol Lee has been selected on the elite squad and is now in India to play in the 2016 Junior Fed Cup by BNP Paribas Asia/Oceania Final Qualifying.
“Carol made it to the Pacific Oceania Junior Fed Cup Team,” CNMI coach Jeff Race told Saipan Tribune last Thursday during the Northern Marianas Sports Association meeting at the conference room of the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.
“It’s another big challenge and great opportunity for her. She will be able to play against some of the best U16 players both in Asia and Oceania. I am excited for her,” Race added.
The 14-year-old Lee is the second player from the CNMI to make the selection. The first one was Tammy Ackerman, who helped Pacific Oceania beat Sri Lanka in the finals of the 2015 Junior Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Pre-Qualifying held in Kuching, Malaysia in March. Ackerman was with Fiji’s Mulan Kamoe and Palau’s Ayana Rengiil and they made it all the way to last qualifier for the 2015 Junior Fed Cup World Finals in Australia, joining 15 other teams. Ackerman and company ended up finishing at No. 13, while Australia, China, Japan, and Indonesia rounded out the Top 4 and qualified to the Fed Cup World Finals held in Madrid, Spain.
This year, Lee is teaming up with Naia Guitton of Tahiti and Fiji’s Vienna Kumar and they will be battling 15 other nations in Oceania and Pacific for the four spots to the 2016 Junior Fed Cup World Finals that Budapest, Hungary will be hosting from Sept. 27 to Oct. 2 with Czech Republic as the defending champion.
The 16 participating nations are divided into four with each group playing a round-robin format and the Top 2 teams in each pool advancing to the knockout stage to determine the four squads that will advance to the final competition in Hungary. The Andrew Mailtorok-captained Pacific Oceania is in Group B along with Australia, Thailand, and Hong Kong. Group A has Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, and New Zealand, while Chinese-Taipei, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, and China are in Group C. Host India leads Group D and will be facing Uzbekistan, South Korea, and Sri Landa. The round-robin play will start today.
