Lee stands out, beats Cruz

Carol Lee, seen here serving in her and Ericka Tuttle’s mixed-up doubles game against Asia Raulerson and Moris Villanueva in the 2016 White Coconut Tennis Classic yesterday at the Pacific Islands Club courts, beat Bobby Cruz in the men’s Open singles finals, 6-1, 6-3. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

CNMI junior player Carol Lee capped her outstanding showing in the men’s Open singles field of the 2016 White Coconut Tennis Classic with a 6-1, 6-3 finals win against Micronesian Games veteran Bobby Cruz yesterday at the Pacific Islands Club court.

Lee was the lone female entry in the division and ended up unbeaten in the eight-player draw to rule the most competitive singles event in the annual tournament. Before pulling off an upset in the title match against the top-ranked Cruz, Lee came from a 7-5, 1-5 (retired) victory against Moris Villanueva in their semis showdown last Sunday.

Villanueva was forced to call it a day despite leading in the second set due to cramps. He made it to the semifinals following a 6-3, 6-2 triumph over Colin Ramsey, while Lee advanced after slipping past Vincent Tudela, 5-7, 6-1, 10-2. Cruz, on the other hand, earned a finals seat after eliminating Robbie Schorr, 6-3, 6-0, and Peter Loken, 4-6, 6-3, 10-7. Loken set up a semis tiff against Cruz after a 6-4, 6-0 victory over Ken Song.

Meanwhile, five other singles title matches were also played yesterday with Isabel Heras, Asia Raulerson, Ji Min Woo, Richard Steele, and Villanueva winning them.

Villanueva topped the boys U16 singles after foiling Schorr’s upset bid, 6-1, 6-4. The eventual division champion took the second finals berth following a 6-3, 6-2 win against Michael Ren last Sunday, 6-4, 6-4, while Schorr made it to the title match first after ousting Colin Ramsey last Saturday, 6-3, 6-4.

In the boys U14 singles, Woo asserted his might over Seung Jin Paik with a 6-3, 6-2 triumph in their title match. The two finalists also collided in the finals of the Tan Holdings tournament—the first event Northern Mariana Islands Tennis Association had for the 2015-2016 season.

Steele duplicated Woo’s straight set win as the former cruised past Daniel Kang, 6-1, 6-3, in the boys U12 finale.

In the girls division, Heras and Raulerson also took the short route to the Promised Land after sweeping their respective opponents. Heras downed Tania Tan, 6-3, 6-0, in their U16 title game, while Raulerson dominated Coume Kaga, 6-0, 6-2, in the U14.

Meanwhile, results in the round-robin girls and boys U10 singles and girls U12 singles, and the mixed-up doubles will be reported in Saipan Tribune’s Tuesday edition.