Lee, Tan enter finals in Fiji

Carol Lee and Tania Tan are one win away from giving the CNMI two singles titles in the 2015 Pacific Oceania Junior Championships.

CNMI coach Jeff Race, right, poses with her female players before their games in the 2015 Pacific Oceania Junior Championships last weekend at the Regional Training Center in Lautoka, Fiji. (Contributed Photo)

Lee marched into the finals of the girls U16 singles after sweeping the Solomon Islands’ Vinda Teally in the upper bracket semifinals, 6-0, 6-0, last Saturday at the Regional Training Center in Lautoka, Fiji. Last Friday, the top-ranked Lee prevailed against Samoa’s Anasis Saipele in the quarterfinals, 6-2, 6-0, to set up a semis date with Teally, a 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 winner versus Fiji’s Vienna Kumar in the other Round of 8 pairing in the upper half of the draw.

In the lower half, Lee’s fellow CNMI bet Isabel Heras fell to the Solomon Islands’ Georjimah Row in the quarterfinals, 1-6, 6-3, while the latter later bowed to Palau’s Ayana Rengiil in the semifinals, 6-3, 6-1. Rengiil, who also won over Fiji’s Ruby Coffin in the quarterfinals, 6-0, 6-0, collides with Lee, her doubles partner, today for the girls U16 singles championship.

In the girls U14 singles finale, it will be Tan against Tahiti’s Naia Guitton in a battle between the division’s Top 2 seeds. The second-ranked Tan gained a finals berth in the lower half of the draw after eliminating Vanuatu’s Daisy Spiti last Friday, 6-0, 6-0, and outclassing Tahiti’s Lea Lamorelle, 6-3, 6-4, last Saturday.

Tan will aim for the division title win today when she duels Guitton, who prevented an all-CNMI finale after booting out former’s teammate Malika Miyawaki in the other semis pairing last Saturday, 6-1, 6-1. Miyawaki made it to the semifinals following a tough 7-5, 7-5 victory against Vanuatu’s Rosalie Molballeh last Friday, while Guitton eased past Kiribati’s Carolina Mwang, 6-1, 6-0.

In other singles results, Robbie Schorr, Ken Song, and Conatsu Kaga also earned semis berths in their respective divisions.

The fourth-seeded Schorr fell short in his finals bid in the boys U14 singles after dropping a three-set semis game against Vanuatu’s Clement Mainguy. Schorr, who entered the semifinals following a 6-0, 6-1 triumph over Kiribati’s Banien Ioera last Friday, took the opening set, 6-2, before Mainguy swept the last two, 7-6 (6), 10-7, to wrap up the more than two hours match.

Mainguy will challenge top-ranked Gillian Osmont in the finals today. The Tahitian player moved into the finals after downing Song in the upper bracket semifinals, 6-1, 6-1. Before losing to Osmont, Song barged into the Final Four after outclassing Vanautu’s Marlin Hannam, 6-4, 2-6, 10-8, in their nearly two-hour quarterfinal tiff.

In the girls U12 singles, Conatsu booted out fellow CNMI player Ericka Tuttle in the quarterfinals, 6-0, 6-0, to bag a Final Four ticket in the lower half of the draw. However, the second-ranked Conatsu missed a finals seat after a sorry defeat to third-seeded Saoirse Breen of Fiji in an extended semis match. Breen moved a win away from the finals after beating Conatsu in the opening set, 6-4, but the CNMI bet remained in contention following a victory in the second set in similar scores. In the deciding third set, Breen, who earlier prevented an all-CNMI semis after ousting Coume Kaga, 6-1, 6-4, walked away with a 10-4 triumph to foil Conatsu’s bid. Breen will fight the division title against the top-seeded Eleanor Schuster of Samoa, after the latter topped American Samoa’s Jireh Warren, 6-2, 6-2, and Tahiti’s Meherio Tautu, 6-0, 6-0.

Doubles results
After getting the boot in the singles, the Kaga sisters still have a chance to be crowned champions in Fiji following their finals entry in the girls U12 doubles.

The second-ranked siblings swept Samoa’s Leafine Cronin and Warren in the semis, 6-3, 6-4, to arrange a finals showdown against the top-seeded Schuster and Tautu, a 7-6 (2), 7-5 winner over Breen and the Solomon Islands’ Zorika Morgan in the other Final Four pairing. The finale will be played today along with the other doubles championship matches in the two other age groups.

The CNMI is also in the girls U14 doubles finale, thanks to the success of Tan and Miyawaki. The Commonwealth duo barged into the finals after a 6-2, 6-2 win over American Samoa’s Crystal Christman and Mychealla Miller. Tan and Miyawaki will be paired against the familiar tandem of Guitton and Lamorelle, who knocked off the CNMI’s Mimi Sakano and Hanisi Ledua in the other Final Four match, 6-0, 6-0.

In the girls U16, Coffin and Kumar pulled off the biggest upset in the division after eliminating the top-ranked pair of Lee and Rengiil, 6-4, 6-4. The two Fiji players will go for the championship against the Solomon Islands duo of Row and Teally, who advanced to the finals following a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Samoa’s Michelle Miller and Saipele.

The finals pairings in the other divisions are as follows: Harley Cronin-Larry Magalasan vs. Reynald Taoroa-Jummah Vigas (boys U16); Jeremi Guines-Osmont vs. Hannam-Mainguy (boys U14); and Vaitea Molinier-Phillip Warren vs. Sam Cribb-Maui Leflon (boys U12).