‘CNMI netters can take 6-8 slots in North Pacific Team’

CNMI National Tennis coach Jeff Race expects the islands to take at least six slots in the North Pacific Team this year which qualifier is set from June 16 to 20 in Guam.

Fourteen of the Commonwealth’s top junior netters will fly to the U.S. territory on June 15 for the North Pacific Qualifier, whose Top 3 finishers in the boys’ and girls 18-and-under and boys’ and girls’ 13-and-under advance to the 2008 Pacific Oceania Junior Championships in Lautoka, Fiji, next month.

Race said there was a change in the NPQ this year as instead of the Top 2, the Top 3 finishers (maximum two from any country) will be on the team.

“So 12 players will travel to Fiji from the North instead of eight. This will open things up a bit for the less experienced girls to have a shot. Bottom line—we will probably have at least six on the NP Team this year and could get seven or possibly eight.

The local bets in the boys’ 18-and-under are Russell Buenaventura, James Camacho, Benjie Decena, and Woo Suk Chang.

Mayuko Arriola, Dina Jones, and Theecel Minor, meanwhile, represent the CNMI’s best hopes in the girls’ 18-and-under.

Rafael Jones, Christian Miller, Jake Lee, and Daniel Camacho will compete in the boys’ 13-and-under, while Thea Minor, Amy Arenovski, and Jean Bracken will see action in the girls’ 13-and-under.

“I expect our boys’ 18s and 13s to all place highly in their events. Mayuko and Thea are the favorites to win their events. Dina, Theecel, and Amy are all possibilities but will have to really have good performances to make the North Pacific Team,” said Race.

Individually, he said Camacho seems to be a hair ahead as the favorite in the boys’ 18-and-under, as he beat Buenaventura in three sets in the 2008 DFS Micronesian Tennis Championships last month.

Arriola, meanwhile, is in fine form and has especially improved in her mental strength, according to Race.

“She will win the girls if healthy. Alea Dugan from Guam will be her competition. Dina or Theecel could finish in the money list if they play well and get a good draw. Most likely Raffy Jones has the edge going in the 13s. He has been working the hardest and is confident after his DFS win when he beat Jake and Chrisitan in straight sets. But these three are really close and anything could happen. Daniel isn’t far behind them. I expect them to finish 1-4,” he said.

If that scenario happens only two of them can go and the organizers will have to go down to the No. 5 finisher for the next NP Team member. “So this will be a dogfight,” said Race.

“Thea will totally dominate the 13s and Amy may finish in the Top 3 if she plays well. Jean Bracken is our least experienced player, but she got a great attitude and a lot of promise. This level of competition should help her raise her game and give her some goals to shoot for next year,” he added.

The islands’ top junior player, Ji Hoon Heo, already has an automatic entry on the North Pacific Team this year and so will not play the NPQ, but instead head to Fiji then to New Caledonia for an ITF event, said Race.