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CNMI jr. players out to defend Nation’s Cup
The CNMI Junior Tennis Team will be on a mission when it competes in the 2017 Pacific Oceania Junior Championships in Fiji next week.
“We will go out there and do our best to defend the Nation’s Cup,” said CNMI coach Jeff Race in an interview with Saipan Tribune yesterday.
“Tahiti will be our toughest competitor, but we can’t take other teams for granted, so we really have to play our A game,” he added.
The Commonwealth took the Nation’s Cup last year after gaining the most titles (4) in the 17-nation tournament. Carol Lee and Robbie Schorr won the girls U16 singles and boys U14 singles championships and also the doubles crowns with Isabel Heras and Ken Song. The CNMI defeated Tahiti (three titles) and Fiji and Vanuatu, which got two championships apiece.
The CNMI Junior Tennis Team and coach Jeff Race pose with their Nation’s Cup award during last year’s 2016 Pacific Oceania Junior Championships in Fiji. (Contributed Photo)
Schorr, Lee, and Heras are now in Fiji and will suit up for the Commonwealth’s squad and the North Pacific Team. Also in Fiji are Ji Min Woo, Seung Jin Paik, and siblings Conatsu and Coume Kaga, who have been at the Regional Training Center in Lautoka for nearly eight months after getting scholarships early this year. The six players will be then joined in Fiji by Maria and Anthony Gregoire, Hye Jin Elliot, Daniel Kang, Richard Steele, Song, Vincent Tudela, Sean Lee, Grace Choi, Michael Ren, and Malika Miyawaki, who will leave Saipan early Thursday morning.
“We have strong team that will compete in Fiji. It will be a very good competition in the POJC,” said Race, who will leave with the squad tomorrow.
“We have depth in the U16 with Robbie, Ken, Vincent, and Michael plus the players from Guam and the Federated States of Micronesia. Carol is obviously the favorite in the U16 singles and will likely pair with Malika in the doubles. Carol’s brother, Sean, is a strong contender in the boys U14,” the CNMI Sports Hall of Famer said.
Race is also excited to see the development of the Kaga sisters, Woo, and Paik after going through regular training sessions at the RTC for several months.
“We will see how far they have gone since joining the RTC in January. They played in several tournaments in Fiji and Australia and I would love to see their progress,” the long-time coach added.
