Lee leads Coconut Classic semis cast

Top-ranked Jake Lee marched into the semifinals of the 2014 White Coconut Classic Tennis Tournament after dominating Michael Ren, 8-1, last Saturday at the American Memorial Park tennis court.

Lee advanced to the semis of the co-ed U18 singles after showing his much younger foe a neat tennis lesson and finishing the match in less than an hour. Joining Lee in the Final Four were Colin Ramsey, the returning Christian Miller, and Thea Minor, who downed separate foes over the weekend.

Ramsey played last Sunday at AMP and worked out an 8-5 stunner against Amami Sakano to set a semis date with Lee this weekend.

The other semis pairing will be an all-Saipan Southern High School students duel with Minor taking on Miller. Minor, who was at the bottom half of the draw shut out Primo Po last Saturday at the Pacific Islands Club, 8-0, while Miller eliminated Seiya Eda last Sunday at AMP, 8-2.

Meanwhile, this year’s White Coconut Classic also featured competitions in the boys U10, U12, and U14 singles and men’s open.

In the round-robin boys U10, Ji Min Woo and Rintaro Miyawaki barged into the win column. Woo blanked Anthony Gregoire, 6-0, while Miyawaki pulled off a 6-4 victory over Daniel Kang.

The men’s open singles also has a round-robin format with five players battling for the championship. CNMI coach Jeff Race boosted his chances for the singles crown in Week 1 of the tournament after going 2-0. Race defeated Father Ryan Jimenez last Saturday, 8-3, and then notched an 8-2 win over junior player Moris Villanueva last Sunday.

Villanueva finished Week 1 of the competition with a 1-1 record, as he earlier dominated Gary Ramsey in his first game last Saturday, 8-0. Fiesta Resort & Spa’s teaching pro Luke Beling is the fifth player entered in the men’s singles and will be playing this weekend.

In the boys U14 singles, Top 2 seeds Michael Ren and Luther Lizama barged into the semifinals. Ren, who drew a bye in the opening round, gained a semis berth after whipping Haruya Eda, 8-0. Eda made it to the quarterfinals of the top half of the draw after an 8-2 win over A.J. Hudkins. In the other quarterfinal pairing in the upper draw, Joshua Abragan was scheduled to duel Robbie Schorr with the winner facing Ren in the semis.

In the lower half of the draw, Lizama took the semis seat after an 8-1 victory over Steven Goodwin. Lizama’s semis foe will be the winner in the quarterfinals duel between Tony Kim and Vincent Tudela.

In the boys U12, the field is down to four players. Jamin Elliot, Sean Lee, and Gang Min Kim marched into the semis after beating separate foes and joined qualifier Ken Song, who drew a bye in the opening round.

Elliot was paired against Jeffrey Seo and won, 8-3, to set a semis showdown against Song. Lee also cruised to victory against Brian Kim, 8-2, to arrange a semis tiff versus Gang Min Kim, who slipped past Eugene Park, 9-7.