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Tan joins tournament in NZ
The CNMI’s Tania Tan is in New Zealand, competing in the ITF Waikato-Bays Championships 2015.
CNMI junior tennis player Tania Tan, right, poses with doubles teammate Ayana Rengiil of Palau at the departure area of the Incheon International Airport while waiting for their connecting flight to New Zealand last weekend. (Contributed Photo)
She earned a slot to the annual tournament after making it to the girls U14 singles finals of the 2015 Pacific Oceania Junior Championships in Fiji last August. However, in the New Zealand event that is being held at the Waikato Tennis Centre in East Hamilton, the 14-year-old Tan is entered in the U18 contest.
The Saipan International School student played her first singles game yesterday against the host’s Amelia Lawson at the upper half of the 64-player bracket and lost in straight sets, 2-6, 1-6. In the doubles, Tan will have her opening match today and will team up with Palau’s Ayana Rengiil, who drew a bye in the first round of the singles event. The Pacific Oceania pair will be up against the New Zealand tandem of Amy Galloway and Louise Waite.
Tan and Rengiil are at the bottom half of the draw in the doubles along with fellow Pacific Oceania player Lyla Tapusoa of Samoa. Tapusoa is paired with New Zealand’s Lana Popovich and won over the host’s Kalais Going and Julia Newman yesterday, 7-6 (3), 6-1. A win by Tan and Rengiil in today’s doubles match would pit the duo against Tapusoa and Popovich provided the latter team will also prevail versus Stella Cliffe and Ashleigh Harvey.
Tan’s tournament in New Zealand is a Grade 5 event, which awards 30 ranking points to the singles champion and 20 each to doubles winners. Other points awarded are as follows: 20 for runner-up, 15 to semifinalist, 10 to quarterfinalists, and 5 to Losers in Last 16 in singles and 20, 15, 10, and 5 in the doubles’ runner-up, semifinalists, quarterfinalist, and Last 16 losers, respectively.
After her participation in the ITF Waikato-Bays Championships 2015, two more competitions await Tan. She is invited to the UAE Fujairah Junior Cup 2015 that will be held in Dubai from Nov. 2 to 7, but she has yet to decide if she will join next month’s Grade 5 contest. Then later this year, Tan will again suit up for the Pacific Oceania Touring Team that will compete in a couple of tournaments in Australia.
The CNMI junior player, who also saw action in Junior ITF Circuit events in Ho Chi Minh and Da Nang in Vietnam in July, will be traveling to Australia with teammates Carol Lee, Robbie Schorr, Ken Song, and Conatsu Kaga.
