Chae upsets foes in U12 singles

Hannah Chae prevailed in the 2021 SIS Student Council Tennis Tournament girls U12 singles division, sweeping all her games last Sunday at the American Memorial Park tennis courts. (Kimberly A. Esmores)

Hannah Chae prevailed in the 2021 SIS Student Council Tennis Tournament girls U12 singles division, sweeping all her games last Sunday at the American Memorial Park tennis courts.

Chae proved slow starts can always be salvaged, as demonstrated in her finals match against Jeong Bin Park. Chae was crowned the champion following a challenging finals match where she lost the first set, 2-6. However, she managed to redeem herself in the next two sets, coasting past Park with a 6-4, 10-7 victory.

The division champ advanced to the semifinals after a bye in the quarterfinals. Once in the semis, Chae came out on top with an easy 4-0, 4-0 victory over Eun Ho Park who struggled to gain entrance to the Final Four. She battled Anne Lee in the quarterfinals taking an easy first set, 4-1, before falling short in the second, 1-4, she eventually regained momentum in the third set with an impressive 10-4 victory.

The division’s runner-up, Park, managed to sweep her semis match against Lina Tsukagoshi with a 5-4,5-4 victory who advanced to the Final Four after getting a bye.

Tsukagoshi bagged the division’s third place with a 4-2, 4-3 victory against Eun Ho Park.

Hannah Chae, right, and runner-up Jeong Bin Park pose for a photo following the 2021 SIS Student Council Tennis Tournament last Sunday at the American Memorial Park tennis courts. (Contributed Photo)

Meanwhile, Irin Chung clinched the title in the girls U14 singles division, easing past her opponents in the round robin tournament.

Chung, who holds a win-loss record of 4-0, made her win official after securing a 6-2, 6-1 over age group No. 2 Hoo Wang who holds a 3-1 record.

The undefeated champ also bested Savita Sikkel, 4-1, 5-4, who completed in the tournament at No. 3 and a win-loss record of 2-2. Chung also bested Anne Kwon with a 4-0, 4-0 victory and Anne Lee, 4-0, 4-0.

Also topping the girls U16 singles division was Serin Chung who bagged the title after a 6-4, 6-4 win over Hye Jin Eliot.

The division title-holder automatically advanced to the semifinals after getting a bye in the opening round. In the semis, Chung came out on top with a 4-0, 4-0 victory over Yebin Shin who made it into the semis of the top half following a 4-1, 4-2 triumph over Maria Shim.

Second place winner Eliot also advanced to the semis of the bottom half by getting a bye where she faced off against Seiyul Hong. Eliot took a 4-1, 4-0 win over Hong who made it into the Final Four by besting Seohee Lee 4-2, 4-0.

Hong still placed inside the Top 3 after a successful battle against Yebin Shin taking a 5-3, 4-1 victory.

The 2021 SIS Student Council Tennis Tournament was sanctioned by the Northern Mariana Islands Tennis Association.