4 barge into CNMI jr. tennis finals

From left, Grace Choi, Mimi Sakano, Ami Tsukagoshi, and Malika Miyawaki pose for a group photo after their girls U14 doubles match in the 2014 CNMI Junior Tennis Championships last Sunday at the Pacific Islands Club hard courts. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Four female players notched finals berth in their respective divisions in the 2014 CNMI Junior Tennis Championships after Week 1 games were completed at the Pacific Islands Club hard court over the weekend.

Making it to the finalists list were girls U10 singles’ Erika Tuttle and Maria Gregoire and U14’s Isabel Heras and Julia Ishikawa.

Tuttle recorded two wins over the weekend to gain the finals seat at the top half of the girls U10 singles draw. She was first paired against Riko Ojima last Friday and won, 6-2, before pulling off an upset over the top-ranked and Riko’s sister, Hana in the semis, 7-6 (7-3), last Sunday. Hana marched into the semis after a 6-1 win over Shaira Valle, a 6-3 victor against Erie Kare Ortega.

At the bottom half of the draw, Gregoire started her bid with a 6-1 victory over Ellie Epley last Friday before beating Maaya Sato in the semis, 6-3. Sato entered the semifinals after Tiara Imar retired due to injury with the latter ahead, 3-2.

In the girls U14 singles, second-ranked Ishikawa swept her foes to clinch the finals ticket in the lower bracket. She recorded her first victory against Malika Miyawaki, 6-3, 6-3, and the second versus Mimi Sakano in the semifinals, 6-2, 6-2. Sakano moved into the semis after a 6-1, 6-1 win over Grace Choi.

In the upper bracket, Heras topped Ami Tsukagoshi in the quarterfinals, 6-3, 6-0, and eliminated No. 1 seed Tania Tan in the semis, 6-2, 6-2, to set up a finals duel against Ishikawa. Tan advanced to the semis, following a 6-0, 6-1 demolition of Conatsu Kaga.

Meanwhile, two other girls singles events were played over the weekend with both the U12 and U18 age groups having round-robin format. In the girls U12 singles, Coume Kaga and Jireh Warren won their opening matches against a similar foe. Coume slipped past Sablan, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2, while Warren nailed a straight set victory over the latter, 7-6 (7-3), 6-1. Coume and Warren will collide this weekend to decide the division winner.

In the girls U18 singles matches, which were played at Kanoa Resort, Mikayla Lopez and Thea Minor downed Negahr Rastguiy. Lopez cruised past Rastguiy, 6-1, 6-1, while Minor also took only two sets to defeat the latter, 6-0, 6-3.

Meanwhile, results of the girls and boys doubles matches will be reported in Saipan Tribune’s Wednesday edition.