Ashraf places fourth in Fiji

Eleven-year-old Kanani Ashraf stamped her name among the top netters in the girls 14-and-under division, finishing in fourth place at the 2004 ITF Pacific Oceania Junior Tennis Championships in Lautoka, Fiji.

The youngest of all 48 players in the tournament, Ashraf caught the eyes of officials after splashing into the semifinal round.

Despite dropping the match, and faltering in a battle for third place Saturday, Ashraf sent a statement as she finished ahead of eight other players in her class.

She was also the top finisher among the NMI representatives.

Ashraf was faced with a shot at avenging an earlier loss to Zinnia Leaman of the Solomon Islands, and fought hard in their opening set only to fall short, 4-6.

Leaman then put the match away with a 6-1 clincher to win third place.

Meanwhile, Mayuko Arriola bounced back and closed her tourney on a good note after pounding away Akanesi Fa of Fiji in straight sets for a seventh place finish in the girl’s 14-and-under category.

Arriola was quick on her feet and simply dominated the opening set en route to an easy 6-1 win. She then hit cruise control in the second set and strolled to a 6-0 win.

Winning the division was Abbey Tere-Apisah of Papua New Guinea, who failed to lose a set in the tourney. For their part, Arriola and Ashraf, despite losing in straight sets to Tere-Apisah, gave her a run for her money as both proved to be tough challenges for the Papua New Guinea champion.

In the boy’s draw, Ji Hoon Heo had a respectable finish, beating Justin Dugan of Guam 6-1, 6-0 for a shot at fifth place.

He then outclassed Manu Priest of Cook Islands to secure the fifth place finish.

Having beaten Priest in their regular round encounter, Heo entered with confidence and again tormented Priest for a 6-4 win. He then followed it up with a clinching 6-3 win in the second set.

Winning the division was Daneric Hazelman of Fiji, who lost only one set in the tournament.

Also representing the Commonwealth was Tim Quan, who placed eighth in the boy’s 18-and-under division. Quan faltered in his final match, losing to Willence Seymour of Nauru 3-6, 0-6.

The four NMI netters, along with players from Naura, Kiribati, and Guam represented the North Pacific.

Other countries include Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea representing the Western Pacific, and Cook Islands, Tonga, Samoa, and American Samoa representing the Eastern Pacific.

In team results, West Pacific dominated and won with 139 points, while North Pacific surprised many with a second place finished with 90 points. East Pacific had 82 points.

Points were determined by individual placing. First place gets 12 points, second place 11, third place 10, and so forth.

According to Dr. Mohammad Ashraf, who accompanied to the team to Fiji, the four NMI netters will return early Saturday morning on board Asiana Airlines.