Schorr, Song in Jr. Davis Cup

Robbie Schorr returns to Seung Jin Paik during their semis game in the boys U16 singles event of last month’s 2018 Coconut Tennis Classic at the American Memorial Park tennis courts. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

The CNMI’s Robbie Schorr and Ken Song will suit up for the Pacific Oceania Team that will compete in the 2018 Junior Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Pre-Qualifying Event next week in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Schorr and Song left Saipan early this morning and were joined on their trip to the South Asian nation by Northern Mariana Islands Tennis Association’s Jeff Race, who will also serve as captain of the Pacific Oceania Team. Vanuatu’s Clement Mainguy completes the squad’s roster for the tournament that will run from March 12 to 17 at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association court.

Schorr will be making his second appearance in the Junior Davis Cup, while Song is a first-timer. Schorr is thankful for the opportunity to represent the CNMI and Pacific Oceania anew and hopes to have a better showing in the Junior Davis Cup this time. Last year, Schorr got only one win in the tournament that was held in India. The 2016 NMSA/Tan Siu Lin Foundation Student Athlete of the Year Schorr whipped Tajikistan’s Khushbakht Karimov, 6-0, 6-0, in the ranking bracket.

“I am excited to be back and play in the Junior Davis Cup,” said Schorr in an interview with Saipan Tribune yesterday afternoon after his last practice session at the Pacific Islands Club.

“We will be playing on clay court, so it’s going to be an added challenge to us and we will try our best to represent our islands and Pacific Oceania,” he added.

Schorr also said that having Song as teammate and Race as coach will be a great help in his bid to improve his performance in the Junior Davis Cup.

“We know each other well, so the chemistry is there,” the 15-year-old player said.

Schorr, Song, and Mainguy will be fighting for the two qualifying slots in Sri Lanka. They have to make it to the finals to advance to the 2018 Junior Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Qualifying Tournament that will be held in Thailand later this month. Last year, Pacific Oceania finished ninth after beating Tajikistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.

Besides Pacific Oceania and the host country, the qualifier will also feature players from Kuwait, Pakistan, Lebanon, Mongolia, Iran, Qatar, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Malaysia, Maldives, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Vietnam, Philippines, Singapore, Laos, and Kyrgyzstan.