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Elliot ecstatic after winning B16 singles
Hye Jin Elliot in action during her and partner Serin Chung’s doubles match in the 2021 TanHoldings Tennis Classic last Sunday at the American Memorial Park tennis courts. (MARK RABAGO)
Hye Jin Elliot was literally a girl among boys in the boys 16-and-under division of the 2021 TanHoldings Tennis Classic, but that didn’t stop the Grace Christian Academy student to top the age group last weekend at the American Memorial Park tennis courts.
The unseeded player beat doubles partner Serin Chung in a protracted all-girls finals, 6-3, 2-6, 10-4. Clinching the B16 championship via a super-tiebreaker third set and beating boys in their own division, however, still ran second to going undefeated in the recent high school volleyball league for Elliot though.
The 16-year-old said she’s been playing volleyball since middle school and winning a tournament without dropping a single game was very memorable. Elliot was the star spiker in the GCA Lady Eagles’ undefeated season in the 2021 NMIVA-PSS Interscholastic Girls High School Volleyball League. It was their fifth straight championship in the competition.
She, however, conceded that winning the boys 16-and-under division in the TanHoldings Tennis Classic brought a big smile on her face.
“I didn’t think I had the possibility to win the boys [division] so I was happier than the time I won the girls because it made me work harder,” she said.
Elliot advanced to the finals after eclipsing second seed Minseong Kim. 6-2, 6-0. Prior to that she beat Wataru Kadokura in another third set super-tiebreaker, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 10-2.
Serin opened with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Simon Tang then beat top seed Cody Shimizu in another third set super-tiebreaker, 6-4, 5-7, 10-8, to enter the finals.
In the girls 14-and-under division, top seed Irin Chung won the championship after triumphing over second seed Hoo Wang, 7-5, 6-1. Chung only had to beat Hannah Chae, 6-0, 6-4, to punch her finals ticket after getting a bye in the first round. Wang, meanwhile, had to beat Isa Nishitani, 6-0, 6-1, in the semis and Lina Tsukagoshi with the same score in the first round.
Results of the other boys and girls doubles of the 2021 TanHoldings Tennis Classic will be published in the next issue of Saipan Tribune.
