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Quan stopped in first round of Air Pacific Junior tennis
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Posted on Aug 24 2004
Although the 2004 ITF Pacific Oceania Junior Tennis Championships came to an end on Saturday, NMI netter Tim Quan still had reason to gain more unmatched experiences in Lautoka, Fiji.
Having placed eighth in the tournament, Quan qualified to take part in the Air Pacific Oceania Closed Junior Tennis Championships, which was originally scheduled to kick off Sunday.
The tournament, however, was rained out the first two days after Mother Nature greeted the Dr. Robin Mitchell Regional Tennis Centre with wet weather.
The sky finally cleared up a bit yesterday, enabling the 32 boys and 32 girls in the singles’ draw to finally step foot on the plexipave courts.
Quan squared off against Lachlan Reed of Australia, and despite faltering in straight sets, 1-4, 1-4, should receive experience that would better his game in the future.
Quan is not out of the tournament yet, as he is also paired with Johnson Taliki of the Solomon Islands in the boy’s doubles draw.
The tournament is considered the officials regional junior championships for Oceania, with only topnotch players entering draws.
Inclusive of Quan, only eight competitors from last week’s tournament qualified for the draw.
Others were Willence Seymour of Nauru, Yoiichi Tomizuka of Kiribati, Samuel Ramoni and Taliki of the Solomon Islands, Chris Toli of American Samoa, Marvin So’onalole of Samoa, and Valu Fa of Fiji.
All other competitors represent powerhouses Australia and New Zealand.
Also in Fiji supporting Quan are netters Kanani Ashraf, Mayuko Arriola, and Ji Hoon Heo, all who also competed in last week’s tournament.
Ashraf placed fourth while Arriola seventh in girl’s 14-and-under class, while Heo was fifth in the boy’s 14-and-under.
All four are scheduled to return early Saturday morning via Asiana Airlines. Later that evening, each would be recognized at the Saipan Tennis Association awards ceremony for the recent Verizon Tennis Cup, which the four competed and did well in.
