Helen beats Serin in girls U14 finals

Rivals inside the tennis court but best friends off it might as well sum up the relationship between Helen Kim and Serin Chung.

And that dynamic was evident when the two 13-year-olds faced each other in the finals of the girls U14 singles in the SIS STUCO Tennis Tournament yesterday at the Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan tennis courts.

In a match plagued by rain delay, Kim and Chung fought tooth and nail in the opening set before the former prevailed in a marathon set, 7-5. Chung tried her best to bring the same energy in the second set, but Kim seized the momentum of her first set win to ultimately defeat her best friend and win the girls U14 singles championship, 6-1.

“It’s always interesting when I play Serin cause she’s also my best friend. It’s always fun to play her and every time I play her it’s always a different result. We’re really playing to win and we don’t hold back but outside the tennis court we’re the best of friends,” said Kim after her victory.

For her part, Chung said she’s happy with Kim’s victory as well as her runner-up finish and looks forward to playing her best friend and fellow Saipan International School student in the future.

“It was challenging but I enjoyed it and I hope to play her again,” she said.

Kim and Chung arranged a final showdown after going through similar paths in the first two rounds held last Jan. 26.

After getting a bye in the first round, Kim dominated her second round pairing against Seiyul Hong, 4-1, 4-1. Chung also got a bye in the first round before dispatching Savita Sikkel in the next round in an identical score of 4-1, 4-1.

In the other finals played at the tennis courts of Garapan hotel yesterday, Carol Lee was leading Robbie Schorr in their own finals match in the boys U18 singles before it was stopped due to rain.

The top seeded Lee raced to a 4-0 lead in the opening set by breaking Schorr twice. The second seeded Schorr fought back and broke Lee in the fifth game to make it 1-4 before play was eventually suspended.

In the other final yesterday, June Yu was battling Wataru Kadokura in the boys U12 singles with the former winning a protracted first set 6-4. Yu was also leading the first game of the second set when the match was suspended on account of the weather.

The Saipan International School student council is organizing the SIS STUCO Tennis Tournament. It is being held to fundraise for the school’s many activities, including prom. SIS student and CNMI junior national player Malika Miyawaki is coordinating the entire tournament with the help of CNMI national tennis coach and sports hall of famer Jeff Race.