5 CNMI players seeded in POJC

Ji Min Woo goes for a backhand slice during a local tournament last year at the Pacific Islands Club. Woo is seeded first in the boys U14 singles event of the 2017 Pacific Oceania Junior Championships. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Five members of the CNMI Junior Tennis Team are seeded in the 2017 Pacific Oceania Junior Championships, which will kick off today in Lautoka, Fiji.

Leading the list of the Commonwealth players seeded in their divisions is No. 1 Ji Min Woo. The 13-year-old is in Group A of the pool play in the boys U14 singles and will be up against Vanuatu’s Warea Tigona, Tonga’s Christopher Maasi, and Avikash Kumar in the elimination games.

The boys U14 singles is divided into four pools. Woo’s teammate Seung Jin Paik is in Group B along with No. 2 and Vanuatu’s Maui Leflon, Tahiti’s Meheannu Larson, and Guam’s Andrew Leng. Group C has the CNMI’s Richard Steele, No. 3 and Tahiti’s Mohearli Polin, the Federated States of Micronesia’s Jerson Freddy, and New Caledonia’s Terence Winter, while Group D has another Commonwealth player in Sean Lee, No. 4 and Fiji’s Kalese Kofe, Tahiti’s Manovai Elie, and Guam’s Thomas Ysrael. Only the Top 2 players in each pool will advance to the playoffs after the round-robin elimination.

In the girls U14 singles, the CNMI will be represented by No. 3 Coume Kaga, her sister Conatsu, and Maria Gregoire. Coume is in Group D with Vanuatu’s Desiree Signo, Tahiti’s Kira Fong Loi, and the Solomon Islands’ Marion Goatee, while Gregoire and Conatsu are in Group B and C, respectively.

In the girls U16, No. 1 seed Carol Lee is a heavy favorite to win her third straight singles crown in the division. She is in Group A with Vanuatu’s Daisy Sipiti and Tonga’s Kava Taufa. Lee’s fellow U16 players, the unranked Malika Miyawaki and Grace Choi, will be playing in Group B and D.

In the boys U16, the Commonwealth has two seeded players in No. 3 Robbie Schorr and No. 4 Michael Ren. Schorr, who won last year’s U14 title, is in Group C and will be battling Tahiti’s Hirinaki Lo, Fiji’s Shantanu Shail, and Guam’s Camden Camacho for the two playoff berths. Ren, on the other hand, will challenge Samoa’s Kristen Pavitt, Vanuatu’s Marlin Hannam, and Tuvalu’s Gavin Molotii for the pair of playoff seats in Group D. Other CNMI bets entered in the boys U16 singles are Ken Song (Group A) and Vincent Tudela (Group B).

Meanwhile, U12 players in the POJC will compete in team event.

The CNMI Boys (Daniel Kang and Anthony Gregoire) will play against the West Pacific Boys today, while Hye Jin Elliot will suit up for the North Pacific Girls that will also battle the West in the opener.