Week 2 of DFS unfolds today

Organizers of the 25th Annual DFS Micronesian Tennis Championships are hopeful that the second weekend of action will be just as intense and exciting as last weekend.

They shouldn’t worry as many top guns in the sport have signed up and confirmed to compete. In all, 50 players have signed up for singles competition while 16 teams will see action in junior doubles.

Both men’s open and women’s open singles comprise of players that will compete in the upcoming 6th Micronesian Games, with Jeff Race and Ji Hoon Heo featured in the men’s corner and Mayuko Arriola, Lila Mailman, Vivian Lee, and Audrey Motto in the women’s corner.

Also joining the men’s contest are Micro Games alternates Ralph Buenaventura and Nicolas Son, as well as veteran Peter Loyola, while Micro Games and South Pacific Mini Games veteran Amanda Weindl has arrived from Hawaii and will compete in the women’s scene. Weindl will serve as an official during the Games.

Meanwhile, the men’s 40-and-over singles comprises of Steve Nutting, Gary Ramsey, Richard Brostrom, Mike Johnson, Keiran Daly, Sonny Decena, Joe Motto Sr., and George Olanda, while Simon Gregorio, Eli Buenaventura, and Nanding Cajigan face off in the men’s 4.5.

Art Borromeo, Hector Benitez, Reo Arriola, Johnny Johnson, Chris Nelson, Russel Buenaventura, Dominic Von Siebenthal, and Didith Julve make up the men’s 4.0 cast, while Randy Steele, Warwick Lowe, Benjie Decena, Jerry John, Paul Baron, Ryan Baron, Christian Miller, Brian Hom, James Camacho, John Jenkins, Bradley Brostrom, Joe Motto Jr., R.J. Knecht, Clay McCullough-Stearns, Woo Suk Chang, Chung Nam Lee, and Calvin Yang make up the men’s 3.0 group.

Also seeing action are Cleofe Santos, Karen Buettner, Matty Buenaventura, and Merle Hudkins in the women’s 4.0.

In doubles, the teams of Angelo Jones and Jake Lee, Rafael Jones and Bradley Brostrom, Sang Woo Han and Brian Mailman, Cody race and McCullough-Stearns, Miller and Ryan Baron, and Camacho and Motto Jr. will play in the boys’ 13-and-under, while Colin Ramsey and Quintin Ramsey, Michael Grandinetti and Andrew Johnson, and Dylan Ackerman and Aaron Lee will play in the boys’ nine-and-under.

Ilia Corella and Melody Johnson, Thea Minor and Shane Jones, and Cleo Von Siebenthal and Jessica Soll will take the court as teams in the girls’ 13-and-under doubles, while Danica Baron and Taylor Knecht, Sabrina Bilston-John and Mika Lopez, Gabrielle Race and Michaela Grandinetti, and Neghar Rastguiy and Lyza Atalig will play in the girls’ nine-and-under.

The tournament is organized by the Northern Mariana Islands Tennis Association.

For more information on the 25th Annual DFS Micronesian Tennis Championships, contact NMITA president and co-director Eli Buenavantura at 484-1558 or vice president Jeff Race at 483-5652.