Previous Story
Lee earns third semis stint in Fiji
Carol Lee eyes the ball during one of her games in the 2016 Punjas Oceania Tennis Championships in Suva, Fiji last week. (Contributed Photo)
The CNMI’s Carol Lee had another semis stint in the 2016 Punjas Oceania Tennis Championships after barging into the Final Four of the mixed doubles event.
Lee partnered with Guam’s Daniel Llarenas and the two North Pacific players were seeded fourth in the 19-team field of the competition being held in Suva Fiji. The CNM-Guam pair drew a bye in the opening round of the bottom half of the draw before slipping past Vanuatu’s Lorraine Banimataku and Leniker Thomas, 3-4, (4), 4-1, 10-4, in Round 2. The Vanuatu duo advanced to the second round after sweeping Samoa’s Lyla Tapusoa and Leon Soonalole, 4-2, 4-1.
Up next for Lee and Llarenas were the No. 6-ranked team of William Bruchard and Nikita Bouttier of New Caledonia and they played another extended game before pulling off a 4-3 (2), 1-4, 10-2 triumph to move into the semifinals. The New Caledonia players set up quarterfinal duel against Lee and Llarenas after a similar super tiebreaker third-set victory against Fiji’s Raymal Singh and Mulan Kamoe, 0-4, 4-2, 10-3.
In the semis, Llarenas and Lee saw their winning run snap by Fiji’s William O’Connell and Tarani Kamoe, the second-ranked pair in the division. O’Connell and Kamoe, who came from a tough 2-4, 4-2, 10-5 win over No. 5 seed and Australia’s Andrew Tavella and Nicole Sewell, this time needed only two sets to foil Llarenas and Lee’s semis bid, 4-1, 4-1.
With the loss, Lee and Llarenas will have to play in the battle for third place against the top-ranked duo of New Caledonia’s Nickolas N’Godrela and Lysiane Moto, who were stunned by No. 3 Travis Dragojlo and Helen Parsons of Australia, 4-3 (0), 4-3 (4), in the other semis pairing.
The semis stint in the mixed doubles was Lee’s third in the Oceania tournament, as she and Isabel Heras earlier made it to the Final Four of the team event and girls doubles. Heras also played in the mixed doubles with Guam’s Mason Caldwell and they lost to Fiji’s Finau Fa and Vienna Kumar in the opening round, 2-4, 1-4.
Lee and Heras will finish up their consolation matches today before heading to New Caledonia for an ITF Juniors ranking tournament. They will return to Fiji for another competition under the ITF Juniors Circuit.
