Seeded players ran amok in Week 1

D.-Kwon

The usual suspects advanced to the final rounds of the 2023 Bridge Capital Tennis Classic last weekend at the American Memorial Park tennis courts.

In the men’s open, top seed Colin Ramsey is safely into the semifinals after turning back a spirited challenge from  June Yu, 6-2, 2-6, 10-7.

Second seed Tomas Abel had a relatively easier time making the semifinals after beating Paul Jang in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3.

A.-Kwon

Fourth seed David Kwon didn’t break a sweat to make the Final Four after a walkover win over A.J. Jones. The other semifinals slot is still being contested by third seed Jonny Jackson and CNMI Sports Hall of Fame inductee and national coach Jeff Race. 

In the women’s open, No. 1 seed Hye Jin Elliott has won her first two matches after beating Hannah Chae, 6-2, 6-2, and Anne Lee, 6-3, 6-0. Chae, meanwhile, upset Serin Chung, 6-4, 6-2.

Ramsey then teamed up with brother Quentin and the duo reached the men’s doubles finals after disposing of second seeds Henry Choi and June Yu, 6-1, 6-0.

Their uphill climb continues in the finals where they will face top seeds Abel and Race, who are coming off a  6-2, 6-2 win over Simon Tang and Nason Wessel in the previous round. 

In the boys 12, Haoyang Song upset No. 1 Jinho Cody Park, 2-6, 6-3, 13-11, to reach the quarterfinals. In the lower bracket, second seed Michael Jeon disposed of Matt Zhu, 6-3, 6-2, to also reach the Final Four. The quarterfinals cast also includes  Seungwoo Lee and Daniel Kang.

Top seed Vivian Chung won her debut in the girls 12 following her 6-1, 7-5 victory over Jenna Pascual, who redeemed herself with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Selina Chi. Also winning her first game in the division is No. 2 Emma Lang, who beat Chi, 6-0, 6-0.

In the mixed doubles 12, Michael Jeon and Vivian Chung beat Park and Pascual, 3-6, 6-3, 10-6. Haoyang Song and Lang also beat Park and Pascual, 6-3, 6-7(5), 10-8.

Top seed Nason Wessel is in the quarterfinals of the boys 14 and is joined by second seed Siwoo Lee and fourth seed Ian Chae. Third seed Taher Shakir, however, was upset by Ryan Choi, 0-6 1-6, in the previous round.

In the girls 14, Lina Tsukagoshi won her first match against Sarah Lim via walkover before turning back Junho Amy Park, 6-1, 6-2. Stella Choi also beat Lim, 6-0, 6-0, and Park, 6-2, 6-3.

Top seed June Yu will face Siwoo Lee for all the marbles in the boys 16 after defeating Simon Tang, 7-6 (4), 6-3, in the semis. Lee advanced with a 7-5, 6-1 win over No. 2 Henry Choi.

In the girls 16, No. 1 seed Hoo Wang advanced to the finals after downing Hannah Chae, 6-1, 6-3. Also championship-round bound is Irin Chung after shocking No. 2 Anne Lee, 7-5, 6-2.

Siblings Jun and Hoo Wang justified their top ranking in the mixed 18 after beating Cody Shimizu and Irin Chung, 7-5, 6-4. Also posting a win was another brother-sister pair as  David and Anna Kwon won over No. 2 seeds Simon Tang and Elliott, 4-6, 6-3, 10-7.

In the men’s singles 40, Paul Jang and Edwin Simbulan won their first games after beating Gary Ramsey, 6-1, 6-0, and John Bradley, 7-5, 6-2, respectively,

Daniel Kang zoomed to a 2-0 start in the men’s 3.0 following wins over Haoyang Song, 5-7, 6-2, 13-11, and Chris Zhu, 3-6, 6-4, 10-6. Matt Zhu also joined the winner’s circle with a 6-3, 1-6, 10-4  victory over Chris Zhu. Song also beat Chris Zhu,  6-3, 6-4.

In the women’s 3.0, Stella Choi and Jin Hua will contest the championship after the Top 2 seeds vanquished separate opponents in the semis. The former beat Isa Nishitani, 6-1, 6-1, while the latter defeated Mei Rengiil, 6-4, 7-5.
Mae Kim and Jocelyn Paano debuted with a 6-4, 6-2 win over  Sadako Arriola and Yuko Kumada in the women’s doubles 3.0.

In the men’s singles 3.0, Cody Shimizu, Ian Chae, Quintin Ramsey, and Dev Bachani all made it to the quarterfinals, while  Bong Gamab and Ed Javier defeated Dev Bachani and Eamon Tang, 6-1, 6-2, in the lone game so far in the men’s doubles 4.0.

The Northern Mariana Islands Tennis Association-organized tourney continues this weekend.