Tudela leads opening day winners

CNMI Junior National Team coach Jeff Race, second row left, poses with his players before their games in the 2017 North Pacific Regional Championships in Guam yesterday. (Contributed Photo)

Vince Tudela was among the opening day winners for the CNMI Junior National Team that is competing in the 2017 North Pacific Regional Championships in Guam.

Tudela played in the first game on Court 2 of the Rick Ninete Tennis Center in Hagatna and crushed Guam’s Mark Fontanilla in the boys 16-and-under singles, 6-0, 6-0. Tudela is seeded fourth in Group A and will be battling No. 1 seed Camden Camacho and Kian Malikooti and the Federated States of Micronesia’s Joab William and Sterkis Abraham for the Top 4 spots in the pool. The CNMI bet was scheduled to play Abraham in his second game in Day 1, but results of their afternoon match on Court 3 were unavailable at the tournament’s website at press time.

Also entered in the boys 16-and-under singles is Michael Ren, who swept FSM’s Sarkau Weston Luckymis in their Group B match, 6-3, 6-2. Ren is the No. 2 seed in the division and was slated to duel Luckymis’ compatriot Andy Sipos yesterday afternoon. Guam’s James Hourican and Marshall Zhang of Guam, and the CNMI’s Ken Song completed Group B.

Song won his first game, too after dominating Zhang, 6-0, 6-1, on Court 1 of the Rick Ninete Center, while the former was to meet Luckymis in the last game on Court 2.

Grace Choi also played on Court 2 and needed only two sets to top FSM’s Tatiana Panuelo in their girls 16-and-under singles game, 6-1, 6-1.

Choi is seeded second in the division, which has only six players, including No. 1 seed Malika Miyawaki, also of the CNMI. Miyawaki duplicated Choi’s easy win after downing Guam’s Joycelyn Tenai, 6-1, 6-0. Miyawaki will try to go for win No. 2 today when she takes on Guam’s Elizabeth Su, while Choi’s Day 2 foe is Tenai.

Only the outcome of the majority of the matches at the Rick Ninete Tennis Centre were posted on the event’s website at press time, thus the incomplete results. Other games in the 16-and-under singles and the boys and girls 14 and under are being held at the Tamuning court. The 12-and-under age group is played in a team format and matches are also taking place in the two venues.

The CNMI’s 12-and-under roster is made up of Anika Camacho, Andrew Chung, Hyejin Elliot, J.C. Ferrer, Anthony Gregoire, Daniel Kang, Helen Kim, and Jiwoong Kwon. The Commonwealth has two teams each in the boys and girls U12 age groups.

In the boys 14 and under division, Sean Lee and Richard Steele are in Group A, while Sam Ryu and Andy Kim are bracketed in Group B. In the girls field, the CNMI has only one entry in No. 1 seed Maria Gregoire and she will be up against FSM’s Anne Skilling, Paris Panuelo, and Ridianne Wolphagen and Guam’s Paige Mantanona and Kaia Malikooti.