Lee settles for 30 ranking points

Carol Lee, seen here competing in the 2016 Northern Marianas Juniors Championships at the Pacific Islands Club, gained ranking points in her first tournament in New Zealand this year. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

The CNMI’s Carol Lee gained 30 ranking points at the conclusion of the Wilson Tennis Canterbury ITF at the Z Energy Wilding Park in Christchurch, New Zealand last Saturday.

Lee won 15 ranking points each in the singles and doubles after losing her quarterfinals and semis matches in the Grade 4 tournament.

In the singles, the No. 2 seed Lee bowed to No. 6 and New Zealand’s Emilia Price in an extended quarterfinal game. The Commonwealth player took the first set, 7-5, but Price managed to steal the win after sweeping the last two, 6-3, 6-3. Price went on to lose to eventual champion Skyler Marie Grace Grishuk of the U.S. The No. 9 seed eliminated Price with a semis win 7-6 (5-3), 6-3, and avoided the upset axe of the unranked Anastasia Berezov of Australia in the finals, 6-0, 6-4.

In the doubles, Lee had a familiar foe in Price, who teamed up with Nina Paripovich to win in the semifinals against the CNMI player and Fiji’s Mulan Kamoe. The Pacific Oceania Touring Team pair dropped the opening set, 2-6, but remained in contention after bouncing back in the second, 6-3. In the deciding super-tiebreaker third set, the No. 2 seed Kiwis recovered their bearings and ended Lee and Kamoe’s streak, 10-6, to make it to the finals.

Paripovich and Price eventually claimed the doubles championship after another tough win against the top-ranked pair of Grishuk and New Zealand’s Holly Stewart. Paripovich and Price prevailed in the first set, 6-4, but missed the straight set victory when Grishuk and Stewart took the second, 6-3. However, the second-ranked duo won’t be denied as it battled back in the deciding set and pulled off a 10-4 win.

Meanwhile, from Christchurch, Lee went to Wellington to compete in the 2017 Tecnifibre Tennis Central Championships

The tournament in Wellington, which will start today and run until Saturday at the Renouf Tennis Centre, is another Grade 4 event that awards ITF Juniors ranking points to players who will at least make it to the Round of 16.

The world juniors No. 404 Lee is in the main draw of singles event and seeded second in the 64-player field. She will play wild card entry Jourdan Craig of New Zealand in the first round and could possibly collide against Wilson Tennis semifinalist Berezov in the second round. A win over New Zealand’s Tamara Anderson will pit the giant-killer Aussie against Lee in Round 2. Lee will also play in the doubles with Kamoe, but the draw in the event has yet to be posted at press time.