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Hannah is women’s 4.0 singles champ
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Posted on Nov 17 2022
Chae
Hannah Chae upset top seed Irin Chung to claim the women’s 4.0 singles tiara of the 2022 Tan Holdings Tennis Classic last Sunday at the Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan tennis courts.
The second seeded Chae defeated Chung in two hard-fought sets, 6-4, 6-3.
The 13-year-old Saipan Community School student opened her campaign with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Savita Sikkel before meeting Chung in the finals.
Chung, meanwhile, debuted with an easy 6-0, 6-1 victory over Grace Choi prior to being ambushed by Chae in the championship round
“I was very surprised and happy at the same time. I practiced very hard so I’m really proud of myself,” said Chae after winning the women’s 4.0 division.
Chae owed her victory last Sunday to getting back to fundamentals and finally getting her emotions in check.
“My tennis technique was working well and I wasn’t that nervous when I was playing against Irin,” she said.
She also thanked her coach, Moris Villanueva, and her parents for supporting her tennis hobby.
In the women’s singles open, Hye Jin Elliot continued her dominance over Serin Chung by beating her schoolmate, 6-3, 6-3.
Elliot beat Anne Lee in the semifinal round, 6-3, 6-0, while Chung reached the finals with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Hoo Wang.
Mihye Michelle Park, meanwhile, topped the women’s 2.0 after Jalexia Rulona couldn’t play in the finals due to an injury. Park barged into the finals following a 4-6, 3-3 (retired) win over Jocelyn Paano, while Rulona advanced with a 6-1, 6-1 triumph over Lam Lamee.
In the mixed doubles 50, Lydia Tan and Jeff Race went a perfect 2-0 in pool play and didn’t drop a set to claim the division. Tan and Race first beat Eunkyoung Lee and Dong Min Lee, 7-6 (3), 6-2, before registering a walkover win over Annie Lai and David Lai.
The 2022 Tan Holdings Tennis Classic was sanctioned by the Northern Mariana Islands Tennis Association and its sponsors include Quality Distributors, ACS Trust, Mobil Oil Marianas, IT&E, Shirley’s Coffee Shop, D&Q Saipan, Alliance Metal Specialists, TakeCare Insurance, All Star Sporting Goods, Tsang Brothers Corp., Docomo Pacific, McDonald’s Guam and Saipan, MarPac, iShop, and Athletes Foot.
