Anne, Nason are mixed doubles champs

Junior netters Anne Lee and Nason Wessel teamed up and became powerhouse doubles partners that won the mixed doubles 5.0 division title in the conclusion of the two-weekend 14th Tan Holdings Tennis Classic 2024 last Sunday at the Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan tennis courts.

In Week 1 of the tourney, Lee was the girls 18 division champion and took that momentum and drive into Week 2.

The No. 2 seed Lee and Wessel, challenged formidable foes No. 1 seed Tania Tan and her partner, Heimanarii Lai San, and upset them after three sets fought to the death.

It was a matchup that had everyone watching with bated breath as it was a tug-of-war with the points in each set. The first set advantage went to Tan and Lai San, but it was a struggle until the end as they won in extra points, 7-6.

Then, Lee and Wessel turned things around in the second as they mirrored the first set—this time in their favor, 7-6.

The tie-breaking third set saw both duos giving it their all, as the mixed doubles title hung in the balance. The young netters showed that they could keep up with the more experienced Tan and Lai San and forced extra points yet again. After much back-and-forth, Lee and Wessel held down the two points needed to win, 12-10.

Lee said of the competition overall, “The competition was great, and I got to meet new challenges along [the] way, but I managed to get through them.” In the mixed doubles finals, she said she and Wessel strategized well during the game and supported each other until “eventually made our way through to first place in the doubles.”

As for the conditions, she said, “The weather was sunny with clouds, making the play not too hot.

With the finals win, she said, “It felt great winning and the feeling of the award in my grasp, and thankful for Nason for partnering up with me and making our way through the tourney.”

She added, “The tourney, overall, was great. I got to meet new and old faces in the tourney and got to challenge myself by going in the BS18 and MS5, even though I lost.”

In the mixed doubles 3.0 division finals, youngsters No. 2 seed Jenna Pascual and partner Cody Park won a close matchup against Enoch Lim and Min Han, 7-6, 7-6.

The women’s doubles 2.0 title was won by the pair of Anarin Abad and Wilanie Temporal, 6-0, 6-2, over Wei Tang and Shui Wang.

No. 2 Judy Eun Gung Jung partnered up with J.R. Jacinto and took down the couple Jocelyn Paano and John Kenneth Casauran, 7-6, 6-2, for the mixed doubles 4.0 division.

In the oldest division, the men’s doubles 50, Roy Barnados and George Poquiz upset No. 1 seed Bong Gamab and his partner Ronnie Lacbayo, 6-2, 6-4.

The women’s doubles 3.0 champions were Amy Eun Ho Park and Jenna Pascual after they beat Hua Jin and Ming Pascual, 6-3, 6-1.

In the women’s doubles 4.0, Tisha Ferrer and Paano defeated Yuko Kumada and Harumi Suzuki, 7-5, 7-5.

Lim and Joe Quitugua made light work of Joel Fernandez and Anand Katta, 6-1, 6-4, in the men’s doubles 3.0 division.

Ryan Cho and Salvador Garrote edged Ronnie Decena and Art Lopez 6-4, 6-1, in the men’s doubles 40.

In the men’s doubles 4.0, Gamab and Lacbayo edged Casauran and Jacinto, 6-3, 7-5.

And in the men’s doubles 5.0 division, men’s singles 5.0 champion Colin Ramsey teamed up with runner-up Tomas Abel and won, 6-2, 6-1, over Wessel and June Yu.

Sponsors of the event were ASC Trust, Mobil, D&Q Distributors, Quality Distributors, Tan Siu Lin Foundation, Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan, National Park Service, AMS, iShop, Century Insurance, CTSI Logistics, TakeCare, and TBC.

The classic had a yearlong hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and made a return in 2021.