Carol treasures wins at home

In this May 27, 2018 file photo, the CNMI’s Carol Lee returns to Hong Kong’s Wing Ka Lin during the second set of their singles title game in the Northern Marianas Junior Championship at the Pacific Islands Club Saipan hard courts. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Northern Mariana Islands Tennis Association would have hosted an International Tennis Federation Junior world-ranking event, starting next week and Carol Lee would have been among the competition’s spectators.

Unfortunately, the Northern Marianas Junior Tennis Championship has been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic so Lee opted to relive her treasured wins in the same tournament two years ago.

Playing in front of the hometown crowd, Lee did not disappoint and took both the singles and doubles championships in the 2018 competition. She first clinched the doubles crown after teaming up with Hong Kong’s Wing Ka Lin in beating Japan’s Nanari Katsumi and Mua Shigeta in the finals, 6-1, 6-2. Then in the singles, Lee this time challenged Lin and also prevailed in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1, to complete the sweep.

Lee recalled feeling the pressure when she advanced to the finals of both the singles and doubles events, as she knew the home crowd was expecting her to win. However, she was so inspired by the support she got from the local tennis community that she managed to overcome her nerves.

In this 2013 file photo, Carol Lee, left, joins her fellow CNMI junior players and veteran coach Jeff Race for a group photo during a practice session at the Pacific Islands Club hard courts. (Contributed Photo)

“The crowd was amazing and of course at the same time it was a pressure-filled match because I knew that many people were counting on me to win. But I didn’t think the negative sides and the consequences of the finals,” Lee said.

“When I played here, I felt strong mentally and became more confident. With my home crowd, my courts, my home, and my family, they helped me a lot to win the matches,” the National Collegiate Athletics Association-bound athlete said.

Lee clinched the pair of championships in the NMITA-hosted event a year before she called it a career in the junior ranks and it was a mission accomplished for her.

“It was one of my goals while playing in the ITF Juniors and I considered the victory as one of my treasured wins,” said Lee, who will be playing for Georgia Tech later this year.

The record five-time Northern Marianas Sports Association/Tan Siu Lin Foundation Female Student Athlete of the Year added that she hopes her triumph in the ITF tournament would also serve as an inspiration to the islands’ junior players.

“The win could give confidence to other junior players on Saipan. If I can do it, they can, too. I am hoping more junior players will represent the CNMI in future ITF tournaments,” the former world No. 114 said.