Seeded junior players deliver

Seung Jin Paik returns to Rintaro Miyawaki during their boys U12 title game in the 2016 CNMI Junior Tennis Championships yesterday at the American Memorial Park tennis courts. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Seeded players in the 2016 CNMI Junior Tennis Championships lived up to high expectations as they won their respective title matches yesterday at the American Memorial Park tennis courts.

In the boys U18 singles, the top-ranked Moris Villanueva swept the unseeded Robbie Schorr in the finals, 6-2, 6-0. Villanueva, who automatically moved into the quarterfinals because of his ranking in the nine-player field, ruled the division without losing a single set. He also took only two sets in downing Tony Kim, 6-3, 6-4, in the semifinals of the upper half of the draw last Saturday and earlier in Week 1 of the annual tournament, Villanueva made short work of Ken Song, 6-2, 6-1.

Schorr eased his way into the finals, too following a 6-0, 6-0 triumph over Vincent Tudela last Saturday. With the semis loss, Tudela was forced to play in the consolation game, which Kim won, 6-3, 6-4.

Meanwhile, Ji Min Woo and Seung Jin Paik were the other seeded players who came out victorious in their respective competitions.

Paik clinched the boys U12 singles after dominating Rintaro Miyawaki in the finals last Sunday, 6-1, 6-1. Paik, who was at the bottom half of the draw and ranked third in his age group pulled off an upset against the No. 2 seed Richard Steele in the semis last Saturday, 6-1, 6-1, to march into the finals.

Miyawaki, on the other hand, got a free ride to the finals after winning via walkover against the top-ranked Daniel Kang, who could not play in the final week of the tournament after breaking his collar bone last Friday. Earlier in the quarterfinals, Miyawaki eliminated the fourth-seeded Anthony Gregoire, 6-4, 6-0, to set up a semis date against Kang, who shut down Jae Hoon Son in the Round of 8 before missing his Final Four match. With Kang out of last weekend’s game, Steele automatically took the third place honors in the boys U12 singles.

In the boys U14 singles, Woo denied Paik’s bid for a second singles crown in the tournament after prevailing in their title duel yesterday, 6-4, 6-2. Woo arranged another finals showdown against Paik after outlasting Sean Lee in the second semis game last Saturday, 7-6 (5), 6-4. Paik won the first semis tiff played in Week 2 of the competition as he blanked Jack Jeoung, who did not play in yesterday’s consolation match, allowing Lee to get the third place medal.

In other results, Gregoire still made it to the champions circle of Northern Mariana Islands Tennis Association’s last local tournament for the 2015-2016 season despite falling short in his bid in the boys U12 singles as he ruled the round-robin boys U10 age group.

Gregoire was unbeaten in three games, completing his perfect record in the division with a 6-0 victory over Sanny Jeoung yesterday. Gregoire’s first two wins in the age group were against Min Ji Jung, 6-1, last Saturday, and over Andrew Chung, 6-4, in the opening week of the tournament. Chung settled for the runner-up honors with his 2-1 mark, while Jung rounded out the Top 3 after earning a 1-2 mark.