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60 register for Week 1 of Tan Holdings Classic
Julia Ishikawa makes a baseline return to Ami Tsukagoshi during their game in the U14 singles of the 2013 Tan Holdings Tennis Classic at the Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan tennis courts. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)
Tournament coordinator Lydia Tan, in a telephone interview with Saipan Tribune yesterday, said about 60 made it to last Friday’s deadline and they will be competing in the singles and doubles U10, U12, U14, U16, and U18 divisions. Besides the juniors singles and doubles, there will also be a separate competition for mini tennis (beginners). Games will be played at the Pacific Islands Club, Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan, Hyatt Regency Saipan, and Kanoa Resort tennis courts.
Week 1 of the annual event will all feature Saipan players, while several Guam players will participate in the final week of the tournament, which will feature the adult singles, doubles, and mixed doubles matches. Deadline for submission of entries for Week 2 is set for Nov. 28. Week 2 games will run from Dec. 4 to 7, while the opening week will have matches from Nov. 28 to 30.
The players to watch in the opening week are defending champions Amami Sakano (U18), Michael Ren (U14), Robbie Schorr (U12), and Sean Lee in the boys division and the girls category’s Julia Ishikawa (U14), Malika Miyawaki (U12), and Hana Ojima (U10). Thea Minor was last year’s champion in the girls U18, but will no longer compete this season, leaving Mikayla Lopez, Negahr Rastguiy, Alina Ishikawa, and the favorite Carol Lee to battle for the division tiara.
Meanwhile, this year’s Tan Holdings Tennis Classic are supported by Fiesta Resort, PIC, Hyatt, Kanoa, Quality Distributors, Take Care, Gatorade/Pacific Trading Company, Tan Siu Lin Foundsartion, Hertz Rent A Car, Shirley’s Coffee Shop, AON, IT&E, Pepsi, AMS Typhoon Shutters, Heineken, First Hawaiian Bank, Delta Air Lines, HomeMart, and Kwong Hwa Department Store.
