Top seeds prevail in rain-soaked UMDA

Even with several delays by rain showers brought about by the tailend of a storm approaching the Philippines, the 2005 UMDA-CNMI Junior Tennis Championship soldiered on the entire day yesterday at the American Memorial Park tennis courts.

While the top seeds, as expected, advanced to the next round, the first day of the 18-and-under tennis championships still produced a hand full of upsets, especially in the younger divisions.

For instance, Quentin Ramsey scored a 6-4 upset against fourth-seeded Tatsu Gotanda in the opening round of the boys’ 10-and-under singles.

Pint-sized Brian Mailman duplicated Ramsey’s feat by turning the tables on Cody Race 6-4 before he proceeded to beat Ramsey in a battle of overachievers 7-5.

Last year’s runner-up Joseph Motto Jr. advanced to the semifinals trouble-free, beating Edward Coad 6-1. Coad earned the right to face the No. 1 seed after hurdling Michael Grandinetti, 6-0.

Angelo Jones and Rafael Jones joined Mailman and Motto in the Final Four. Angelo turned back Andrew Johnson 6-3, while Rafael defeated Crosby Schultz 6-2.

In their first-round assignments Angelo tripped Christian Miller (6-4), Johnson beat Noah Conrad (6-1), Schultz outplayed Seung Whan Cha (6-2), and Rafael blanked Seung Jun Cha (6-0).

In the doubles, the Cha brothers vindicated themselves with a 6-3 victory over Ramsey and Grandinetti.

In the girls’ 10-and-under singles, Theecel Minor setup a semifinal encounter with sister Thea after she thumped Abigail Coad 6-3.

The other half of the semis will feature Michaela Grandinetti going up against Melody Johnson. Grandinetti advanced with a tough 7-6 (7-5) triumph over Gabrielle Race.

Top seed Russell Buenaventura kicked off his campaign in the boys’ 14-and-under singles on the right foot following a 6-0, 6-0 shutout win over Jae Wan Kim. Kim defeated Dong Hyung Kim 6-1 in the first round.

Three others got out of the first round. Roger Lee took our Woo Suk Chung 7-6 (7-3), 6-3, Bradley Brostrom got past Nicolas Coad 6-2, 6-1, and Henry Yang scored a walkover win against Seung Rim Cha.

In the doubles, Motto and Dominic von Siebenthal teamed up to beat Seung Rim Cha and Nicolas Coad 6-0, 6-0 and Yang and Park collaborated in a 6-1, 6-2 win over Chung and Brostrom.

Lila Mailman and Jessica Soll, meanwhile, earned semifinal matches against the top seeds in the girls’ 14-and-under singles. Mailman scored a 6-0, 6-1 win over Shane Jones and will challenge Audrey Motto in the next round. Soll, for her part, defeated Aki Gotonda 6-3, 7-5 and will play Vivien Lee in the other semis match.

The top three seeds in the boys’ 18-and-under also prevailed against their first round opponents.

Nathan Algaier was no match against No. 1 Ralph Buenaventura and lost 6-0, 6-0 at the Hyatt. Second seed Jung Mun Chung warmed up against Johnny Johnson 6-1, 6-1, while Ji Hoon Heo had the easiest assignment of all three when Keith Gabaldon opted to withdraw from the tournament.

Last year’s champion and fourth seed Nicolas Son was about to play his match against crossover sensation Mayuko Arriola when the heavens opened up. Arriola debuted strong hours earlier with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Ho Suk.

Heo was again the beneficiary of a walkover win when he and Algaier advanced when Son and Gabaldon withdrew. In the only other match in the division, Arriola and Johnson defeated Ralph Buenaventura and Suk 6-0, 6-4.