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Thea saves third place in last tournament
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Posted on Jan 15 2012
By Roselyn Monroyo
Reporter
Reporter
CNMI junior tennis player Thea Minor capped her campaign in Australia with a third place win in the 2012 Victorian Junior Grasscourt Championships in Wodonga yesterday.
Minor defeated the second-ranked Lorish Puluspene of Papua New Guinea in straight sets in the battle for third place, 6-2, 6-1, to make it to the medal podium of the U16 singles.
The 15-year-old netter drew a bye in the first round of the girls U16 singles and then faced Australia’s Priscilla Dawson in the quarterfinals last Friday. A 6-1, 6-1 triumph over her Aussie foe advanced Minor to the semis where he was pitted against former teammate Annie Shannon of Fiji.
The top-seeded Shannon then foiled Minor’s finals bid with a victory after two sets last Saturday. Shannon dominated the Commonwealth bet in the first set, 6-0, but struggled in the second set before ousting Minor, 7-6. Shannon eventually bowed to Tuvalu’s Alesi Molotii in the finals, 4-6, 1-6.
Besides the U16 singles, Minor also joined the doubles event in Wodonga, but she and Puluspune lost to Australia’s Julia Stutsel and Victoria Toole in the first round last Saturday, 6-0, 6-2.
Joining Minor in the same tournament were Tammy Ackerman and Christian Miller.
Ackerman was entered in the main draw of the girls U12 singles and made it all the way to the quarterfinals. The 12-year-old netter first defeated Kirsten Waters, 6-2, 7-6, and then stunned fifth-ranked Taylah Mielczarek, 7-5, 6-3, to march into the Round of 8. In the quarterfinals, Ackerman went on to lose to No. 4 seed Peta Valos, 3-6, 6-3, 2-6. The CNMI netter then notched one victory in the loser’s bracket to finish sixth out of 30 players in the U12 singles.
Miller survived the 28-player qualifying draw, winning over No. 11 seed Beau Mathew Pleming, 7-5, 6-2, and sixth-ranked Lachlan Skinner, 7-6, 4-6, 6-2, but dropped his opening match in the main draw last Thursday, bowing to Damien Minguez, 6-4, 6-2. Miller fell to the loser’s bracket and also lost to Bernard Richter, 3-6, 3-6.
