Thea clinches doubles crown in Australia

Thea Minor wrapped up her first tournament in Australia with a championship win in the girls U16 doubles.

Minor and teammate Annie Shannon of Fiji went 4-0 in the round-robin competition in the 2012 Australia Post Margaret Court Cup in Albury, sealing the doubles crown after a victory via walkover against New Caledonia’s Assaya Trimari and Australia Isabella Spring last Tuesday afternoon. The Oceania ITF Touring Team also won via walkover against top seeds Marta Brzozowska and Lauren Smileski of Australia and then recorded two victories versus fellow Touring Team players Alesi Molotii of Tuvalu and Lorish Puluspene of Papua New Guinea, 3-6, 6-2, 11-9, and Victoria’s Priscilla Dawson and Julia Stutsel, 6-2, 6-2, to top the field with an undefeated record.

The doubles win was a big improvement from Minor’s debut in the same tournament last year. The CNMI junior netter teamed up with California’s Sabine Ludwig in 2011 and dropped their opening match against Trimari and Samuelle Bull.

The doubles championship also came a few hours after the 15-year-old player lost in the battle for third place against Spring in the U16 singles. Minor’s settled for fourth place in the singles division, which was still a significant progress, as she also dropped her first match in the same tournament last year and then made it only to the quarterfinals of the consolation draw.

CNMI netters join second tourney

After completing her first tournament, Minor is now in Wodonga, Victoria for the 2012 Victorian Junior Grasscourt Championships. Joining her in Victoria are fellow CNMI netters Tammy Ackerman, Rafael Jones, and Christian Miller.

Minor will still play in the girls U16 singles and doubles at the Wodonga Tennis Centre. In the singles division, she will meet Dawson anew with the winner facing either Shannon or Spring. Minor bowed to Shannon in the singles semis in Albury. In the doubles tournament in Victoria, the Saipan Southern High School student has a new partner in Puluspene and they are seeded second in the draw behind Molotii and Shannon.

Miller will also compete in the U16 singles, but he has to go through another qualifying tournament before making it to the main draw. His first opponent in Victory is the No. 11 seed Beau Mathew Pleming and he needs two wins in the qualifier to advance to the main draw. In Albury, Miller won his first match in the qualifier, but lost in the second round and failed to make it to the main draw. The 16-year-old CNMI bet will also compete in the doubles and this time he is in the main draw, joining forces with Kiribati’s Teba Tito and dueling Australian pair Trafford Mccrory and Lachlan Skinner.

Ackerman is entered in the girls U12 singles and doubles. She challenges the host’s Kirsten Waters today and then teams up with his Albury tormentor Jasmin Ruby Starr in the doubles later in the afternoon. Ackerman and Starr will square off against Jovana Stanisic and Mia Vukicevic in the first round.

Jones will also play at the Wodonga Tennis Centre, but will not be competing in the same tournament. He will be playing in the men’s singles of the 2012 Wodonga Grasscourt Championships and will duel Cameron Hart in the first round of the qualifying draw. In the doubles, Jones is in the main draw and will partner with Fiji’s Raj Reddy. The two Oceania players were scheduled to meet No. 4 seeds Edward John Benson and James Palmer yesterday.