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Kwon, Lee lead Crowne Plaza tourney winners
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Posted on Apr 21 2023
David Kwon and Anne Lee topped the premier divisions of the 2023 NMI Crowne Plaza Junior Tennis Championships last Sunday at the American Memorial Park tennis courts.
Kwon, the No. 1 seed, completed his round-robin sweep of the boys 18 by beating June Yu, 6-3, 6-2.
The 16-year-old student from Mt. Carmel School said the finals was difficult because he played with a hand injury and “so I was just trying to put the ball in.”
Kwon dedicated his latest boys 18 championship to his ever supportive family.
Lee, for her part, upset No. 1 seed Serin Chung after the 12-year-old topped the girls 18 with an easy 6-1, 6-0 victory,
The younger sister of nationally ranked collegiate netter Carol Lee liked the way she played in the girls 18 finale.
“I think I played pretty good. She (Chung) used a lot of tactics and I barely caught up with the ball but I still made it,” said the 5’7” Saipan International School student.
She said her forehand and receiving worked well during the finals that somehow negated Chung’s speed. Lee dedicated her championship to her coach and father, Dong Min Lee.
Curiously, Lee lost in the girls 16 against Hoo Wang. Lee, the No. 2 seed, led Wang early only to succumb in the last two sets against the No. 1 seed, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.
In the boys 16, second seed Siwoo Lee overcame a tough challenge from June Yu to upset the top seed, 6-2, 6-7 (1), 7-5.
In the boys 14, Nason Wessel justified his top seeding by beating Matthew Hwang, 6-3, 6-0.
No. 2 Hannah Chae then took out No. 1 seed Lina Tsukagoshi in the girls 14’s protracted finale, 3-6, 7-5, 10-7.
In the boys 12, top seed Jinho Cody Park triumphed over second seed Min Joon Michael Jeon, 6-4, 6-4, while Vivian Chung dominated the girls 2-0 in round-robin play.
Cooper Koning Fong won the boys 10 after going 4-0 in round-robin play.
In the boys doubles 18, David Kwon and Henry Choi went undefeated in two matches to win the division, while Jinho Cody Park and Haoyang Song did exactly the same in the boys doubles 12.
In the girls 18, Irin Chung and Anna Kwon beat Hoo Wang and Hannah Chae, 7-5, 6-4, in the finals for the tiara.
The 2023 NMI Crowne Plaza Junior Tennis Championships was held in coordination with the Northern Mariana Islands Tennis Association.
