Schorr, Kaga win in Guam

Kaga

Schorr

The CNMI’s junior tennis players delivered as promised after dominating the U14 singles competition in the 44th Annual Chamorro Open held over the weekend at the Rick Ninete Tennis Center in Guam.

In the boys division, the Commonwealth bets swept the semis berths with Robbie Schorr eventually ruling the seven-player field. Schorr clinched the championship after outclassing Ken Song in the finals, 6-0, 6-4.

Song marched into the finals following a 6-2, 6-0 victory against Sean Lee, while the top-ranked Schorr advanced after blanking Seung Jin Paik, 6-0, 6-0, in the other semis pairing. Schorr automatically moved into the semis after drawing a bye, while Paik earned a Final Four berth after eliminating Guam’s Dakota Gibson, 6-1, 6-3, at the upper half of the bracket.

At the lower half, Lee got a free semis pass as Guam’s Kian Malakooti was sick and could not play in the weekend tournament, while the second-seeded Song ousted fellow CNMI player Jimin Woo, 6-4, 6-2, to complete the semis cast.

Lee, after bowing to Song, settled for third place after slipping past Paik in the super tiebreaker third set. Lee dropped the first set, 4-6, but remained in contention for the Top 3 finish after recording a 6-3 win in the second set. He then kept his momentum in the extended set en route to an impressive 10-0 victory.

Meanwhile, the girls U14 singles finale also went the distance with Conatsu Kaga pulling off an upset against the top-ranked Malika Miyawaki.

Kaga, who is seeded second in the group eked out a 6-4 victory in the opening set, but missed a sweep when Miyawaki came back with a 6-2 triumph in the second. With the match tied, the two CNMI players had to go through the super tiebreaker third set, which turned out to be a nip-and-tuck game before Kaga escaped with an 11-9 win.

The 12-year-old Kaga set up a finals date against Miyawaki after knocking out fellow CNMI player Asia Raulerson in the semifinals, 6-3, 6-1, at the bottom half of the draw. The newly crowned champion also downed Guam’s Alyssa Merletti in an earlier game, 6-0, 6-0, to barge into the semis, while Raulerson swept Guam’s Alexia Brown, 6-0, 6-4, to arrange a semis duel against Kaga.

Miyawaki, on the other hand, gained a semis entry after eliminating teammate Maria Gregoire, 6-3, 6-2, and Guam’s Joycelyn Tenai, 6-1, 6-0. Tenai headed into the Final Four following a 6-4, 6-1 victory over compatriot Kaia Malakooti.

In other results, Raulerson joined Kaga and Miyawaki to the podium after blanking Tenai in the battle for third place, 6-0, 6-0, while Gregoire ruled the consolation draw. Gregoire topped the field after defeating Malakooti, 6-2, 7-5, and Brown, 6-1, 7-5.

The 44th Annual Chamorro Open was part of Oceania Tennis Federation’s Junior Circuit (for U14 age group) and awarded ranking point to winners. OTF member-nations host one Junior Circuit competition every year and points are added to determine the rankings of the players in the region at the end of the season.