ATAC, Ball Poppers win 2012 Marianas Kids Cup

ATAC and Ball Poppers won their respective U17 and U14 divisions in the 5th Marianas Kids Cup four-person coed beach volleyball tournament held last Sunday at the Fiesta Resort & Spa sand courts.

ATAC’s Andrew Johnson, Clay McCullough-Stearns, Amber Roberts, and Toni Yamada mounted an impressive comeback after falling to eventual runner-up Set To Kill, 19-21, in the upper bracket semifinals.

ATAC downed third placer Giraffe, 15-11, to get its rematch against its favored opponent.

Set To Kill held a twice-to-beat advantage in the finals, but ATAC went on the attack and grinded out a clutch, 21-18, upset.

ATAC carried the momentum over into the deciding second set with game-point to 15 and a must-win-by-two rule.

The deciding set started close until ATAC worked an early, 5-4, lead into a 10-5 gap. Yamada held serve during the exchange.

Set To Kill came close and trailed, 9-11, but ATAC kept cool and closed it out from there after a big-time block by Yamada that all but sealed the deal.

ATAC’s Yamada played very well defensively at the net and mixed up some sets to striker McCullough-Stearns with some sneaky tap shots to keep their opponents honest.

The foursome displayed great teamwork and never ran out of gas. Set To Kill may have committed a number of unforced errors late in the day, but to their credit ATAC stepped up and made some big plays at crucial points in both matches.

In U14 play, Ball Poppers’ Tommy Choi, Enrico Del Rosario, Billy Hinson, Hunter Jewell, and Negahr Rastguiy fell flat to Swagger, 9-21, in the second round, but climbed the ladder over Scared Hitless and third placer Beach Bums for another crack at its rivals.

Much like the U17 finale, the Ball Poppers came alive with their backs against the wall and pulled out a rally to force a deciding final set to 15.

Ball Poppers would also finish strong in the clutch and held off Swagger in the end, however specific scoring results were not recorded on the official bracket.

The Top 3 place winners of both age groups were presented with medals and assorted gift bags, which included various coupon prizes.

The U17 division fielded 16 teams, while the U14 field featured nine.

The Marianas Kids Cup officially marked the conclusion of the 2012 Marianas Cup Beach Volleyball Festival.

The festival is the longest running beach volleyball event in Micronesia and just celebrated its 20th anniversary this year.

Fiesta Resort & Spa, Docomo Pacific, the Marianas Visitor Authority, Delta Airlines, and the Northern Marianas Islands Volleyball Association organized the festivities.

Other sponsors include KSPN2, Visitors Channel, Mobil, Blue Bay, Gatorade, Pepsi, Tan Siu Lin Foundation, Practical Solutions, Law Offices of S. Joshua Berger, Law Offices of Bruce Berline, Law Offices of Sean Frink, Marianas Medical Center, AIC, Law Offices of Stephen J. Nutting, Marianas Eye Institute, Deloitte, Subway, Foremost, PAS, Saipan International School, Island Apparel, Auntie Song, Micronesian Marine, Brother’s Acupuncture Clinic, Smile Marianas, American Red Cross, National Office Supply, Lollipops, Delta Management Corp., Marianas Health, Spicy Thai Noodle Place, Tano Group Inc., Angie & Sean Photography, and San Vicente Estates.