Chambers clinches semis berth in Coconut Classic

  Cole Chambers boosted his chances for a second straight U10 singles crown after making it to the semifinals of the 2012 White Coconut Tennis Classic.

Chambers, which pulled off an upset in the Tan Holdings Classic two months ago, started his bid for back-to-back singles crown after downing Ken Song in yesterday’s game at the American Memorial Park tennis courts, 6-3. Song challenged the top-seeded Chambers in the quarterfinals after whipping Logan Mister in the first round last Saturday, 6-1.

The first win in Week 1 of the annual competition moved Chambers to the Final Four round against the winner of the Mondo Taniguchi-Robert Schorr quarterfinals tiff in the upper half of the 11-player draw. Schorr advanced to the Round of 8 after a 6-1 victory over Kevin Kim last Saturday at the Pacific Islands Club court, while Taniguchi had a bye in the first round.

In the lower half of the draw, Adirya Rai was paired against A.J. Hudkins in the quarterfinals yesterday, while Tony Atalig was pitted against Eugene Park. Result of neither match was unavailable at press time.

In the boys U12 singles, three players had already secured semis tickets. Clayton Izuka notched one after thwarting Vincent Tudela last Saturday, 8-3, while Michael Jones and Alex Park also marched into the next round after prevailing over Haruya Eda, 8-4, and Satoshi Ohtsu (walkover), respectively.

In the boys U15, the quarterfinal cast were completed over the weekend with Chris Cajigan, Tommy Choi, Carl Dela Cruz, Dylan Ackerman, Aaron Lee, Seiya Eda, Colin Ramsey, and Moris Villanueva on the list. Choi won over Michael Ren, 8-1, to advance against Cajigan, who had a bye in the first round. Dela Cruz and Ackerman also had byes and were scheduled to meet in the quarterfinals. Ramsey topped Daniel Lim, to arrange a quarterfinals tiff against Villanueva, who along with Lee and Eda earned byes in the opening round.

In the boys U18 division, Rafael Jones had a free pass to the semifinals after a walkover victory over Lucas Nutting yesterday. Nutting won his opening match against R.J. Aquino last Saturday, 8-3. Joining Jones in the semis was Amami Sakano, who had a bye in the first round and was also awarded a win via walkover over Nathan Nutting. Christian Miller, Jake Lee, Angelo Jones, and Daniel Park were set to square off for the last two semis seats.

Rafael Jones is also entered in the men’s singles and made it to the semifinals after an 8-4 triumph over Raj Rai. Completing the Final Four were Jeff Race, Miller, and Cruz. Race crushed Lee in his first match, 8-1; Miller edged Daniel Park, 9-8 (7-5); and Cruz downed Sakano, 8-1.

The complete results in Week 1 of the Coconut Classic will be published in Saipan Tribune’s Tuesday edition.