Ackerman delivers for CNMI

Tammy Ackerman recorded last week’s biggest win after ruling the U12 singles event of the 2011 Pacific Oceania Junior Championships in Lautoka, Fiji.

Ackerman defeated teammate Negahr Rastguiy in the finals, 6-2, 6-4, to give the CNMI its best finish in the annual tournament. The eventual POJC champion lost only one game in the five-day competition and won five matches to top the 11-player field.

Nine other CNMI junior tennis players joined the youth tournament. Christian Miller was the second best finisher for the Commonwealth, duplicating Rastguiy’s feat after placing second to Tahiti’s Heve Kelley in the U15 singles.

In the boys U12 division, Carl Dela Cruz was ranked third, while Moris Villanueva finished seventh. Mikayla Lopez and Melody Johnson placed fourth and ninth, respectively, in the girls U15, while Jake Lee saved the seventh spot in the same age group. In the U18 division, siblings Thea and Theecel Minor finished fifth and ninth, respectively, while Rafael Jones claimed the No. 4 spot.

Back in local events, the various competitions on Saipan continued with their respective games.

In the 2011 Saipan Soccer School Futsal League at the TSL Sports Complex, Red Inter and IT&E Awesome posted the biggest wins in their respective divisions. Red Inter stunned the then undefeated Korean Futsal Team in the men’s division, while IT&E Awesome pulled off an upset over Shirley’s B in the women’s play.

Still at the TSL Sports Complex, the UFO Bud Cup caging continued wits its regular season game with Bayani/Mobil keeping its unbeaten record (3-0) and grabbing the top spot in the nine-team field.

Namfrel/Proa is in second place with its 2-0 record, followed by Visminda/Satbahi (3-1) and UPAA/Hoopaholics (3-1), Cabalen/Noni (1-1), MAFEA/ Ali’i Konflikt (1-2), NMBA/Mixed Blood (1-2), MDX/Blue Haus (0-3), and Cavite/Andok’s (0-4).

Over at the outdoor Gualo Rai Basketball Court, the Blue Haus caging is nearing completion of its regular games.

Still in basketball, the Rotary caging opened its 2011 season with a U19 division game between last year’s finalists Ol’Aces and Sonics.

In golf, Guam’s Louie Sunga claimed his third win in four years in the Championship Flight of the Tournament of Champions after topping the 2011 edition of the annual event at the Laolao Bay Golf Resort.

In soccer, Ahn Young Ha Seh Yo dominated the 2nd Annual Fiesta Beach Soccer 5-on-5 Tournament.