Chae, Choi arrange rematch in boys 12 finale

Ian Chae and Ryan Choi arranged a finals matchup in the boys 12-and-under division of the Bridge Capital Tennis Classic last Saturday at the American Memorial Park tennis courts.

Chae, the top seed, advanced to the finals after overwhelming Matthew Hwang, 6-1, 6-1, while No. 2 Choi booked his chance for a championship and redemption against Chae following an 8-1 win over Quido Jambor.

Chae and Choi played each other in the 2022 White Coconut Tennis Classic last February. Choi, however, was the No. 1 seed then and lost to the unseeded Choi, 6-3, 6-2, in the semifinals. Chae eventually took the plum after turning back Jihun Park, 6-2, 6-2, for all the marbles.

The girls 12-and-under is a two-horse race between Lina Tsukahoshi and Amy Park, but results were still unavailable as of press time.

In the boys 10-and-under it will be Michael Jeon against Cody Park. Jeon, the No. 1 seed, advanced after a 6-0 victory over Yoosong “Sam” Choi, while Park was a 6-1 winner over Seungwoo Lee in their own semifinals.

In the girls 10-and-under, Stella Choi and Emma Lang are currently at 2-0 and are on a collision course for the title. Choi beat Vivian Chung, 6-1, and Jenna Pascual, 6-0. Lang was a 6-2 victor over Chung and a 6-1 winner against Pascual.

Henry Choi justified his top ranking in the boys 14-and-under after punching a finals ticket with a 6-3, 6-1 win over No. 4 Henry Yeom. His opponent in the finals is Siwoo Lee after the second seed edged Nason Wessel, 6-1, 7-5.

In the girls 14-and-under, top seed Irin Chung will take on second seed Hoo Wang for the championship. Chung reached the finals after drubbing Hannah Chae, 6-1, 6-1, while Wang was a 7-5, 6-2 winner over Anna Kwon in the lower half of the draw.

David Kwon eased to the finals of the boys 16-and-under following a 6-3, 6-2 conquest of No. 4 Wataru Kadokura. No. 3 Cody Shimizu, meanwhile, upset No. 2 June Yu, 7-5, 6-4, to reach the championship round.

In the mixed 18-and-under doubles, the top seeds arranged the finals showdown after No. 1 Jimin Woo and Serin Chung beat David Kwon and Anna Kwon, 6-2, 6-1, in the semis and No. 2 Andy Kim and Hyejin Elliot dispatched Cody Shimizu and Irin Chung, 6-1, 6-2, in their own semis match.

Matthew Hwang and Annie Lee are lording it over in the mixed 12-and-under doubles following a 3-0 start. They beat Jihun Park and Vivian Chung, 6-4, 6-2, before dropping Cody Park and Jenna Pascual, 6-1, 6-1. They also defeated Eamon Tang and Luna Tsukagoshi in an epic 7-6 (6), 7-6 (3) match.

Results of the division finals of the Bridge Capital Tennis Classic, which is organized by the Northern Mariana Islands Tennis Association, will be reported in tomorrow’s issue of Saipan Tribune.