Anne tops girls 14; 16 NMI netters qualify for Fiji

Anne Lee, younger sister of NCAA tennis star Carol, swatted her way to first place overall in the girls U14 division in the conclusion of the North Pacific Regional Championships last Saturday at the American Memorial Park tennis courts.

The tennis genes definitely run in the family as 13-year-old Lee dominated the field in the tourney that was held from April 8 to April 13 with an undefeated run. In the finals, she clinched the top qualifying spot with a 6-1, 6-1 card against Guam’s Faith Perera.

Prior to the finals, Lee racked up five wins and also won all her matches in the girls U14 doubles with partner Lina Tsukagoshi that led to first place over NMI’s Vivian Chung and Jenna Pascual, 6-0, 6-0.

The third qualifying spot in the girls U14 division went to Tsukagoshi and the fourth went to Guam’s Leah San Augustin.

In the boys U14 division, Guam’s Jacob Hsioa and Jeren Devera took the Top 2 spots, while NMI’s Ian Chae and Ryan Choi landed third and fourth respectively.

NMI’s U12 girls doubles team swept the division with three wins after defeating Guam, 3-0, Federated States of Micronesia, 3-0, and Nauru, 3-0. The team consisted of Selina Chi, Stella Choi, and Emma Lang.

The NMI U12 boys doubles team, on the other hand, took second place but also qualified for Fiji.

Michael Jeong, Daniel Kang, and Matt Zhu fell second to Guam’s team made up of Edward Calvo, Camelo Chen, and Daniel Aki Noble.

All in all, along with the boys and girls U16 winners announced yesterday—boys U16 players Nason Wessel, Si Woo Lee, Henry Choi, and June Yu and girls U16 players Irin Chung and Hoo Wang, a total of 16 NMI netters qualified for the 2024 Pacific Oceania Junior Championship in Lautoka, Fiji this July.

Lee, who’s been playing tennis since she was around 4-5 years old, said the competition was “pretty good. I got to meet new challengers but I got to beat them all. I’m pretty thankful to my coach—my dad.”

As for her finals matchup, she said, “I didn’t mind the weather. I just wanted to play. My opponent was pretty good so I was kind of tired.” On qualifying for Fiji, she said, “I’m pretty happy about it. I’m proud of myself.”

Thirteen-year-old Hsiao, on his win, said, “I played well in all. I got a lot of balls in and I was really determined to win. I felt amazed and very happy to go to Fiji.”

On his experience playing against other countries, he said, “It’s very interesting to play stronger players and to see how other people play.”

Guam’s junior national team head coach Ryan Horn told Saipan Tribune that the competition was “fantastic.” He said there were 22 Guam players, and out of the 22, 10 were first-timers. “It is truly a great development program for these kids. These kids are also having a ton of fun making friends and making lifelong memories,” said Horn.

As for Guam’s qualifying players, he said, “It’s been a fantastic week all around. These kids have given everything they’ve got. They’ve worked hard for the last three months with me and their respective coaches, and they’ve come and traveled and represented Guam with amazing gusto and amazing heart.”

One father from Guam, Manny Pangelinan, said that his daughter, Ella, who competed in the girls U12 division, is a first-time competitor. He said the tourney was “good. It’s very nice for her to come out and get the opportunity to be with other kids from other places.”

The tourney that featured players from the CNMI, Guam, Nauru, Palau, and the Federated States of Micronesia was organized by the Northern Mariana Islands Tennis Association and funded by the Oceania Tennis Federation and International Tennis Federation.