CNMI bags 4 singles titles

The CNMI’s junior tennis players returned to Saipan yesterday, bringing home with them four singles championships from the ITF North Pacific Regional Championships 2015.

Tania Tan, seen here going for a baseline return during last month’s 2015 IT&E Northern Marianas Junior Championships, delivered one of the four singles titles for the CNMI after ruling the girls U14 event in the ITF North Pacific Regional Championships 2015 last Saturday in Guam.
(Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Tania Tan delivered one of the four singles crown after she ruled the girls U14 division. Isabel Heras, Conatsu Kaga, and Robbie Schorr gave the powerhouse CNMI Junior Tennis Team the three other divisions titles after topping the girls U16, girls U12, and boys U14 singles contests, respectively.

The No. 1-ranked Tan lorded in over in the all-CNMI playoff round, beating Mimi Sakano first in the semifinals last Friday at the Rick Ninete Tennis Center in Hagatna, Guam, 6-2, 6-0, before sweeping the second-seeded Malika Miyawaki in the finals, 6-1, 6-2, to complete her perfect run in the girls U14 singles. Tan was unbeaten in three games in the pool play.

Joining Tan and Miyawaki in the Top 3 was Sakano, who downed fellow CNMI bet Asia Raulerson in the consolation game, 6-1, 6-2. Miyawaki also prevailed against Raulerson, 6-0, 6-0, in the other semis pairing to set a finals duel against Tan.

In the girls U16, the finals was a showdown between the Top 2 seeds, too with the No. 1-picked Isabel Heras outclassing the second-seeded Ami Tsukagoshi, 6-2, 6-1, to clinch the division championship. Heras made it to the finals after eliminating Guam’s Tara Usita-Lee in the semis, 6-3, 6-2. Tsukagoshi, on the other hand, knocked out the Federated States of Micronesia’s Sunshein Palik, 6-4, 6-2, to arrange an all-CNMI finale. Palik went on to round out the Top 3 after edging Usita-Lee in the consolation match, 6-3, 7-5.

In the girls U12 singles, the finals was a family affair with Conatsu beating her younger sister Coume, 6-1, 6-2. The Kagas marched into the title match after Conatsu booted out FSM’s Anne Skilling, 6-2, 6-2, and Coume prevailed against fellow CNMI player Ericka Tuttle, 6-0, 6-3. Skilling denied the Commonwealth a 1-2-3 finish after slipping Tuttle in the battle for third place, 7-5, 6-3.

Meanwhile, the fourth all-CNMI finale had Schorr surviving Song in the super tiebreak, 4-6, 6-1, 10-6. Schorr barged into the finals after easing past FSM’s Joab William, 6-2, 6-1, in the upper bracket semis. In the lower bracket, Song downed fellow CNMI player Vincent Tudela, 7-5, 6-3, in one of the best matches in the tournament, according to coach Jeff Race.

“It seemed like a men’s open singles match. To quote Moris Villanueva, one of our junior players who stopped by in Guam to watch the games, he said he could not take his eye out of the match. That’s how great it was,” Race said.

“Our players had a lot of great matches. It was hot and they were very tired of playing for consecutive days, but they stayed motivated and focus every time they went to the court. They rose up to the level (of play) that a few years ago they think they would not reach. It’s been a great week and we’re very proud of our players,” the CNMI coach added.