Race, Ren rule mixed-up doubles

  CNMI coach Jeff Race and junior player Michael Ren won the battle of the top seeds in the mixed-up doubles event in the 2012 White Coconut Tennis Classic.

Race and Ren, who were seeded first in the 64-player draw and led the top half of the field, were pitted against the second-ranked pair of Carl Dela Cruz and Emily Jones and nailed a straight set win in the finals, 6-0, 6-1, last Sunday afternoon at the American Memorial Park tennis courts.

It was Race and Ren’s first win as teammates, while Dela Cruz and Jones faltered anew in their bid to reign supreme in the unique event in the annual competition. Dela Cruz made it to the semis last year before he and teammate Rafael Jones bowed to eventual champions Peter Loyola and Tammy Ackerman, while Emily Jones joined forces with Peter Loken and lost to Loyola and Ackerman in the finals.

Race had enough energy left when he played in the afternoon finals with Ren to wrap up the title game early. Race had earlier battled and lost to Bobby Cruz in the men’s open singles finals and after about an hour dueled Dela Cruz and Emily Jones in the doubles game. Dela Cruz also played back-to-back matches last Sunday, as he also advanced to the boys U15 singles finals and won over Seiya Eda.

Dela Cruz and Emily Jones barged into the finals after notching four wins. They drew a bye in the lower half of the bracket and then topped George Poquiz and Tony Atalig in the second round in Week 1 of the two-weekend event, 6-1, 6-2. Next up for the seeded pair were Merle Hudkins and Grace Choi and Dela Cruz and Emily Jones prevailed in straight set anew, 6-2, 6-1. In the quarterfinals, Dela Cruz and Emily Jones beat Alex Park and Steve Nutting, 6-1, 6-2, to arrange a semis duel against Ken Imaya and Julia Ishikawa. The semis pairing in the lower half of the bracket was played in extended minutes with Dela Cruz and Jones winning, 4-6, 6-3, 10-6.

In the upper half of the bracket, Race and Ren’s victories were all via sweeps. They started the event with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Mark Blackburn and Daniel Lim n the second round and then beat Rafael Jones and Catherine Atalig in the third round, 6-2, 6-1. In the quarterfinal, Race and Ren swept Jake Lee and Cole Chambers, 6-0, 6-0. Ren and Race posted their fourth victory via sweep when they eliminated Daniel Park and Steven Goodwin in the semis, 6-1, 6-1.