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5 take NMSA monthly awards
MP United-TanHoldings’ Gillian Villagomez, left, receives a pass from her teammate during their Division A game against Kanoa in the 2017 Dove Women’s Spring Football League that concluded last month at the Chacha Oceanview Middle School. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)
Northern Marianas Sports Association had a full roster of awardees for May as five athletes were recognized for their outstanding performance last month.
First on the list was tennis player Carol Lee, who got the NMSA/Tan Siu Lin Foundation Female Student Athlete of the Month as he won her first Juniors ITF world ranking tournament after seeing action in a series of competitions in Morocco. Lee was paired with the U.S. Skyler Marie Grace Grishuk and they defeated Gabon’s Ella Avomo and Serbia’s Elena Gemovic in the doubles finals of the RUC Tennis Junior Open.
Lee, who also participated and earned world ranking points in the ITF/CAT North African Circuit 2017 and 2017 Mediterranée Avenir, went back to Fiji after her last tournament in Morocco and won, too the women’s open doubles crown in the (with South Africa’s Roxanne Clark) Fiji Tattslotto Open Tennis Championships 2017.
Ji Min Woo played in the same tournament in Fiji and was named the NMSA/Tan Siu Lin Foundation Male Student Athlete of the Month for ruling the boy 15 singles event of the 110th edition of the annual contest.
Woo, a finalist in the 2017 West Pacific Regional Championships that was also held last month, downed favored Maui Leflon of Vanuatu in the division finals, 2-6, 6-1, 6-3, to earn the nod of NMSA members.
Meanwhile, the other May awardees were soccer’s Gillian Villagomez and bowling’s Simon Manacop and Janice Camacho.
Villagomez shared the NMSA/Tan Siu Lin Foundation Female Student Athlete of the Month with Lee for getting the Golden Boot award in the 2017 Dove Women’s Spring Football League. The Saipan International School student collected 11 goals in the Division A games and was also among the top scorers (with seven goals) in the 2017 NMIFA-PSS High School Interscholastic Football League.
Manacop and Camacho, on the other hand, were named Male and Female Athletes of the Month for dominating the 35th CNMI May Masters Tournament. Manacop won the singles, doubles, team, and All Events, missing just the May Masters crown itself in his bid to sweep the five divisions. Camacho took the May Masters tiara in the women’s division and earned the top honors in the doubles and team categories.
