Lee regains form, sweeps Aussie foe

The CNMI’s Carol Lee, seen here playing in the 2016 Chuck E. Cheese’s ITF Junior Championships last May at the Rick Ninete Tennis Centre in Hagatna, Guam, is competing in her second tournament in New Zealand. (Contributed Photo)

The CNMI’s Carol Lee is back on track, winning her opening match in the ITF Waikato-Bays Under 18s Championships yesterday at the Waikato Tennis Centre in East Hamilton, New Zealand.

Lee, who fell short in her title bids in the singles and doubles events in the Auckland ITF Indoor Championships 2016 after losing her semifinal matches last weekend, competed in her second tournament in New Zealand with only a day to recover and marched into the third round of another ITF Juniors ranking competition.

The 14-year-old player was pitted against Natasa Ilic of Australia and won after only two sets, 6-1, 6-3. Ilic earned the right to face Lee in the second round after the former got a victory (via walkover) versus New Zealand’s Ana Tamanika.

Lee, on the other hand, had a bye in Round 2 and is again at the bottom half of the 48-player draw. The CNMI player is seeded third anew in the singles event behind No. 1 Lisa Mays of Australia and No. 2 Ashleigh Harvey of New Zealand.

Lee will go for win No. 2 and a quarterfinals berth today when she takes on the unranked Cayla McInroy of New Zealand. The Kiwi is a qualifier, gaining an entry to the main draw after surviving compatriot Ruby Spencer in the qualifying tournament last weekend, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2. In the main draw, McInroy soldiered on after pulling off an upset over the No. 16-ranked Shaylee Syme, 6-3, 6-4.

Meanwhile, Lee’s fellow Pacific Oceania players Ayana Rengiil of Palau and Lyla Tapusoa of Samoa are out of contention in singles play.

The seventh-seeded Rengiil won the opening set of her match against unranked Victoria Hartland, 6-3, but the Kiwi stole the win after prevailing in the last two sets, 6-4, 6-4. Hardland faced Rengiil in the second round following a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Ruby Spencer, while Rengiil had a bye in Round 2. Tapusoa also bowed to a New Zealand player after losing to Paige Alter, 2-6, 2-6.

Tapusoa was also eliminated in the doubles as she and teammate Kirsten Swindell of New Zealand were beaten by McInroy and Kaitlyn Wilkinson, 6-4, 6-1. Lee and her doubles partner—Rengiil—did not play in the doubles yesterday as they had a bye in the opening round after getting the No. 2 seeding in the 24-team field. The duo of Lee and Rengiil will begin their doubles campaign today when they duel Australia’s Gabriella Ioannou and Japan’s Asuka Kata, a 6-2, 6-1 winner in the first round over the tandem of New Zealand’s Ema Miyaura and Amily Suga.

The CNMI player gained entry to the two tournaments in New Zealand after winning the girls U16 singles and doubles events in the 2016 Pacific Oceania Junior Championship held in Fiji in August.