Champions crowned in Coconut Classic

The three-day 2006 Coconut Classic Tennis Tournament came to an end yesterday, with officials of the Northern Mariana Islands Tennis Association crowning champions in various age categories at the American Memorial Park tennis courts.

Leading the list of newly crowned champions were youth standouts Vivian Lee and Thea Minor as the two were able to take home two titles courtesy of their strong play over the weekend.

Lee first took care of business in the girls’ 14-and-under category as she fought off an early deficit to defeat best friend Audrey Motto in three sets. The two were engaged in a tough battle right from the start, with Motto taking the first set 6-4. Lee came back strong in the second set and returned the favor, 6-4, to tie the match, then earned the plum and coconut trophy with a 6-1 clincher.

Lee also joined forces with Benjie Decena of Tinian and put on a good show in the mixed up doubles. The two came from behind to defeat Nicolas Son and Melody Johnson in the semifinals, 9-7.

They were scheduled to battle the duo of Sonny Decena and Thea Minor in the finals, however, the Decena family had to retire and return to Tinian. With that, NMITA officials made the unorthodox decision to give Sonny and Benjie Decena the runner-up trophy, while Lee and Minor were crowned champions of the friendly contest. Sonny and Minor earned their ticket to the finals by beating Peter Loyola and Jessica Soll in the semifinals.

Like Lee, Minor put on a show as she crossed over and won the boys’ 10-and-under singles competition, capping her impressive run with a 6-4 victory over Christian Miller.

Meanwhile, Benjie Decena made good use of his time away from his home on Tinian by topping the boys’ 14-and-under singles category after beating Dominic von Siebanthal in straight sets 6-3, 6-1.

Sonny Decena also bagged a title to go along with his runner-up finish as he defeated Ed Johnson 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (10-6) in the men’s singles.

Also continuing to dominate was Mayuko Arriola, who had her way in the women’s singles finals against Karen Ramsey for a straights sets victory, 6-0 and 6-0.

Despite her loss in the mixed up doubles, Melody Johnson still had a decent weekend as she soared to the top of the girls’ 10-and-under competition after beating Ilia Corella, 6-4.

In the only other finals left, 14-and-under Pacific ranked No. 2 Ji Hoon Heo was able to place his shots well and topped the boys’ 18-and-under singles category with a straight sets victory over Ralph Buenaventura.

Heo, who earned his No. 2 ranking with his strong play in last year’s Oceania Junior Tennis Championships in Fiji, was on a roll in the opening set and dominated for a 6-1 win.

Buenaventura put up a stronger fight in the second set, but Heo’s game was a little too much as he managed to close the match with a 7-5 win.

The tournament was sponsored by the Northern Marianas Insurance Association and organized by the NMITA.