Top seeds advance in Jr. tennis champs

Antonio Heras in action against Cooper Fong Koning in the Boys 10 division of the 2022 TSL CNMI Junior Tennis Championships last Sunday at the American Memorial Park tennis courts. (MARK RABAGO )

The first week of the 2022 TSL CNMI Junior Tennis Championships unfurled last weekend with top seeds winning their first round matches at the American Memorial Park tennis courts.

In the boys 10, No. 1 seed Minjoon Michael Jeon took out Cooper Fong Koning, 6-1. His next opponent will be third seed Seungwoo Lee, who also advanced with a 6-3 win over Antonio Heras.

In the bottom half of the bracket, No. 2 seed Jinho Cody Park is safely in the quarterfinals after beating Jackson Fong Koning, 6-0. He will play Yoosong Choi next after Choi upset fourth seed Daniel Kang, 6-2.

Girls 10 top seed Emma Kang will take on Jenna Pascual this weekend after she got a bye in the opening round. Pascual arranged the quarterfinal date with Kang after a 6-0 win over Yoo Jung Choi. Awaiting the winner of the Kang-Pascual matchup will be Vivien Chung after the third seed advanced to the finals following a 6-1 victory over Scarlett Burrell.

In the boys 12, Ian Chae will play in the finals after the No. 1 seed survived a 6-2, 7-6 (5) challenge from Matthew Hwang. He awaits the winner of the Jihun Park-Ryan Choi match this Saturday. Park advanced to the semis following a 6-1, 6-1 triumph over Quido Jambor, while No. 2 Choi was a 6-2, 6-1 victor over Eamon Tang.

June Yu joined three others in the semis after the Boys 14 top seed breezed past Stephen Yeom, 6-2, 6-0. His next opponent will be Si Woo Lee after the No. 3 seed took down Yutaka Kadokura, 6-2, 6-1. No. 2 seed Henry Choi is already in the finals after he beat fourth seed Nason Wessel in their marathon semis match last weekend, 6-1, 3-6, 10-6.

In the girls 14, Irin Chung justified her top seeding after vanquishing Anna Kwon, 6-0, 6-1. Chung will take on Lina Tsukagoshi in the semis after the latter surprised third seed Hannah Chae, 7-5, 6-2. Savita Sikkel and No. 2 Hoo Wang will duel in the other semis match after Sikkel upset No. 4 Anne Lee, 6-1, 7-5, and Wang blanked Sarah Lim, 6-0, 6-0.

Cody Shimizu won his quarterfinals match in the Boys 16 after the No. 1 seed made quick work of Jack Linden, 6-0, 6-2. His next match will be against No. 3 seed David Kwon, who was a 6-0, 6-0 winner over Jesse Sablan. In the other semis pairing, fourth seed Simon Tang will play Wataru Kadokura after the former defeated Minsoon Kim, 6-1, 6-1. No. 4 Kadokura, meanwhile, advanced after a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Min Seo Kim.

In the Boys 18, No. 1 seed Jimin Woo will lock horns with Andy Kim this weekend. Woo got a bye in the first round, while Kim was a 6-1, 6-1 winner over Sam Culp. Already waiting in the finals is Jun Wang after he upset No. 2 seed Isaac Heo, 6-0, 6-3, in the semis.

The 2022 TSL CNMI Junior Tennis Championships is being sponsored by the Tan Siu Lin Foundation and organized by the Northern Mariana Islands Tennis Associaiton.