One weekend down, another to go in DFS tennis

The first weekend of action in the 24th Annual DFS Micronesian Tennis Championships came to a close Sunday evening at the Pacific Islands Club tennis courts.

Joining the list of champions crowned over the weekend were Kazumi Imai and Yuko Kobayashi, Karen Ramsey and Lucita Pasana, and Gary Ramsey and Richard Brostrom as the three teams outlasted their opponents in their finals matches.

Imai and Kobayashi had the toughest task as they faced the duo of Joy Minor and Mayuko Arriola in the championship of the women’s open doubles.

Arriola and Minor seemed to be in total control of the match, opening the first set with a 4-1 lead courtesy of well-placed shots and several aces by Arriola.

The twosome moved a step closer to achieving their goal, closing the set by taking the next two games for a 6-1 win.

Imai and Kobayashi, however, weren’t pleased with their opening performance and bounced back in the second set to level the match at a set apiece with a 6-3 win.

Their momentum carried over in the third set and Imai and Kobayashi grabbed the advantage, going up 4-2. Arriola and Minor managed to close in and eventually took the lead, but the match was far from being completed as Imai and Kobayashi remained determined and played out the deficit until the set went into a tiebreaker.

A seesaw affair ensued but a costly double fault late in the match enabled Imai and Kobayashi to forge ahead and capture the crown in a final score of 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (11-9).

For their part, Karen Ramsey and Pasana bested the field in the women’s 3.0 doubles and earned the title after beating Dinalette Jones and Ligaya Paculanang.

Ramsey and Pasana had their way in the first set and worked for a 6-2 win. Jones and Paculanang, however, fought back and led 5-4 in the second set, but their push came to a halt and the match ended with Pasana and Ramsey taking the second set by default, due to injury.

Meanwhile, Brostrom and Gary Ramsey stole the show in the men’s 3.0 doubles, beating John Jenkins and Francis Mangsat in straight sets.

Brostrom and Ramsey had their work cut out for them in the first set as Jenkins and Mangsat hung tough and put up a good fight before faltering 5-7.

Brostrom and Ramsey then followed up with a stronger charge and closed the match, 6-3.

Other doubles winners over the weekend were Nicolas Son and Michael Son in the men’s open, Manny Po and Boyet Minor in the men’s 4.0, and Peter Loyola and Sally Wong in the mixed doubles.

Singles champions include Thea Minor in the girls’ 10-and-under, Lila Mailman in the girls’ 14-and-under, Nicolas Son in the boys’ 18-and-under, and Joe Motto Jr. in the boys’ 10-and-under.

The boys’ 14-and-under final between Russell Buenaventura and Calvin Yang was rescheduled.

DFS tennis action continues this weekend with competition in the junior doubles and adult singles.

For more information, contact NMITA president and co-director Eli Buenaventura at 484-1558.