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12 CNMI jr. netters off to Guam
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Posted on Dec 26 2008
CNMI tennis national coach and Northern Marianas Islands Tennis Association vice president Jeff Race is bringing 12 junior players in Guam to participate in the 2008 Guam Junior Championships.
The Guam tournament will run from Dec. 27 to 30 and the CNMI bets are expected to leave Saipan early morning today.
Race said the CNMI Team is composed of Ilia Corella, Cody and Gabrielle Race, Chris Cajigan, Jodel Fernandez, John Cano, Tammy and Dylan Ackerman, Neghar Rastguiy, Amy Arenovski, and Kennedy Izuka.
The Commonwealth’s netters will be competing in the singles and doubles divisions of three age groups, namely the 10-and-under, 14-and-under, and 18-and-under.
The CNMI coach is looking forward to a good showing from 14-and-under participants Cajigan, Corella, Arenovski, and Rastguiy.
“Neghar is only nine-years-old, but she can beat players older than her. Chris also plays big for his age (10) and Ilia and Amy have been showing impressive games in our past tournaments. I think we have good chances in this division,” Race said.
Cajigan made it to the quarterfinals of last year’s boys’ 13-and-under division, but lost to teammate Jake Lee.
Rafael Jones and Christian Miller battled for the title with the latter winning. Last year’s finalists could not make it to this weekend’s tournament as they are coming off a three-week trip to New Zealand.
Race is also counting on Izuka, who has gained a lot of confidence after playing in Guam a couple of months back and in three local tournaments last month.
The CNMI coach is excited with Fernandez’s first off-island tournament and he hopes the Commonwealth’s 18-and-under player will stand her ground against the host.
“Overall, we have competitive team, which I am sure will bring home a couple of titles,” Race said.
The Guam tournament will be held at the Rick Ninete Tennis Center in Hagatna and at the Tiyan Tennis Center. The netfest will have a compass draw and an eight-game pro set scoring.
