Youth netters opt to play singles

Out of the 53 players entered in the adult singles division of this coming weekend’s 24th Annual DFS Tennis Championships, 17 are from the junior ranks.

That left a total of only 12 teams—all in the boys and girls’ 12-and-under division—competing in the doubles division.

Leading the diaspora to the adult ranks are Nicolas Son, who last week won the boys’18-and-under title of the same tournament, Ralph Buenaventura, who lost to the Marianas High School student in the finals, 2003 South Pacific Games veteran Jung Mun Chung, and 14-year-old tennis prodigy Ji Hoon Heo.

Son will have his baptism of fire in the very first round, as he will go up against Pacific Oceania Davis Cup captain and many time national player Jeff Race.

Buenaventura and Chung will square off against each other, while Heo drew Felipe Quiroz, with the winner of their match challenging Son’s older brother, Daniel. The other first round match pits Peter Loyola against Rory Mackay.

Buenaventura’s younger brother, Russell, and Keith Gabaldon also decided to throw their hats in the adult singles, albeit in men’s 4.0 division.

Buenaventura, who reached the finals of the boys’ 14-and-under last week, will play Riyoichi Gotonda in the first round, while Gabaldon will trade forehands and backhands with Steve Nutting.

Top seed Richard Asuncion got a bye in the first round and will play the winner between Tony Santos and Hector Benitez. Other opening round matches have Ricky Castro going up against Eddie Kim, Francis Mangsat taking on Joe Motto Sr., Reo Arriola squaring off against Jay Lu, and Ganover Rettin challenging Father Ryan Jimenez.

The men’s 3.0 will feature the most youth netters as a total of seven underage players, including Mayuko Arriola, will see action in the division.

Arriola, who also played in the boys’ 18-and-under division last week, will play Philip Park in the first round. Other matches will have Calvin Yang against Joe Motto Jr., Ho Suk Chang against Henry Pum, with Boy Cruz and John Jenkins waiting in the wings in the next round, and Jenry Yang against Nate Algaier.

In the men’s 40-and-over division, top seed Ed Johnson was given a bye in the opening round. He will battle the victor of the match between Michael Johnson and Gary Ramsey.

The bottom half of the draw will have Joe Motto Sr. taking on Gotonda and Nutting squaring off against Richard Brostrom.

Lila Mailman, Vivian Lee, and Audrey Motto continue the youth trend in the women’s open. Mailman will play the winner between Lee and Matti Buenaventura, while Motto will face Amanda Weindl, a former youth netter herself.

In contrast to the women’s open, Camryn Mosley is the lone youth netter entered in the women’s 3.0 and she will go up against newcomer Lenny Panteleon. Betty Johnson and Merle Hudkins are the tops seeds in the division and each got byes in the opening round. Lisa Black and Arriola’s mother, Sadako, are the other competitors in the category.

Joe Motto Jr. and Hunter Thorpe are not affected by the absence of other doubles division and will try their best to bring justice to their selection as top seeds in the boys’ 12-and-under category, where they will battle seven other pairs.

The four other teams in the girls’ 12-and-under division are approaching their matches with the same frame of mind.

NMITA president and co-director Eli Buenaventura also reminded participants that tomorrow’s schedule might include night matches and therefore players must check their assignments beginning today at the American Memorial Park tennis court bulletin board, Pacific Islands Club tennis center, and the All Sporting Goods store in Garapan.

For more information about the 24th Annual DFS Tennis Championships, contact Buenaventura at 484-1558.