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Kaga siblings off to strong start
Conatsu Kaga, seen here in a local tournament, won her first game in the girls U14 singles division of the 2017 Pacific Oceania Junior Championships in Fiji yesterday. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)
Sisters Coume and Conatsu Kaga put on a show in the opening day of the 2017 Pacific Oceania Junior Championships after dominating their respective opponents in Lautoka, Fiji.
The No. 3 seed Coume whipped the Solomon Islands’ Marion Goatee, 6-1, 6-1, in their pool play match in Group D’s girls U14 singles yesterday, while over at the Group C pairing, the former’s older sister Conatsu stunned No. 4 Celine Snogan of Tahiti in similar scores.
Before competing in the POJC, the Kaga siblings have been in Fiji for nearly eight months, training at the regional facility and CNMI Junior National Team coach Jeff Race earlier said he is excited to see the development of the two players since they left Saipan. Conatsu and Coume gave Race a glimpse of what they are capable of with their convincing victories on Day 1 of the POJC.
Ji Min Woo and Seung Jin Paik are the two other players who have been at the ITF/OTF training facility and they had mixed fortunes in yesterday’s pool play matches in the boys U14 singles. No. 1 Woo is in Group A and swept Fiji’s Avikash Kumar, 6-1, 6-0, while Paik dropped a three-setter in his Group B tiff against Tahiti’s Meheannu Larson, 6-1, 3-6, 7-10. The CNMI’s two other bets in the division—Richard Steele and Sean Lee—also lost their first games. Lee fell to Tahiti’s Manovai Elie, 0-6, 5-7, while Steele bowed to No. 3 Mohearii Polin, also of Tahiti, 0-6, 4-6.
In the boys U16 singles, the Commonwealth went 3-for-4 with No. 3 Robbie Schorr, No. 4 Michael Ren, and Ken Song winning their opening matches. Ren outclassed Tuvalu’s Gavin Molotii, 7-6 (2), 6-1; Ken defeated the Cook Islands’ Elijah Amataiti, 6-1, 6-1; and Schorr was awarded the victory via forfeiture against Guam’s Camden Camacho. The CNMI missed a sweep in the division when Vincent Tudela lost an extended game against Vanuatu’s Samuel Strid, 7-6 (1), 1-6, 1-6.
In the girls U16 singles, Grace Choi had a strong debut after crushing Guam’s Joycelyn Tenai, 6-0, 6-1. Malika Miyawaki faltered in her opener opposite Vanuatu’s Rosalie Molballeh, 1-6, 1-6, while No. 1 seed Carol Lee did not play yesterday and will have her first match today against Vanuatu’s Daisy Sipiti.
In other results, the CNMI’s Daniel Kang and Anthony Gregoire bowed to West Pacific’s Ashley Vora and Ali Tofikai in the U12 team event, losing both singles matches and the lone doubles game. Hye Jin Elliot and her North Pacific teammate Leilah Etscheit of the Federated States of Micronesia suffered the same misfortunes in the girls division.
