Mayuko outlasts Vivien in women’s finals

In a game that needed three full sets and two days to finish, Mayuko Arriola defeated Vivien Lee in the women’s finals open of the 2008 DFS Micronesian Championships last Tuesday night at the Hyatt Regency Saipan tennis courts.

Arriola and Lee actually faced off late afternoon on Memorial Day Monday at the Pacific Islands Club tennis courts, but rain showers postponed their match. When the heavens opened up, both junior netters had won a set apiece.

Relying on her powerful forehand and deep ground strokes, Arriola edged Lee in the first set, 6-4. Lee, however, returned the favor in the second, using her speed and adept shot-making to force a third and deciding set, 6-3.

When the women’s championship resumed a day later and a few kilometers up north at the Garapan landmark, Arriola and Lee continued their fierce battle.

In the end, however, Arriola’s power proved too much for the versatile Lee to overcome as Arriola took the championship by winning the third set, 6-3.

The Northern Mariana Islands Tennis Association-organized event only has one championship left undecided as the finals of the men’s 4.0 between Gabriel Boyer and his nephew James Camacho has been plagued by rain delay.

Like the women’s open finale, the Boyer-Camacho matchup began last Monday. It was supposed to be played Tuesday night but finally got started only last night.

When both Boyer and Camacho agreed to postpone the match, Boyer was in full control, winning the first set 6-4 and leading in the second, 2-1.

Ji Hoon Heo won the men’s open title without even lifting his racquet as his finals opponent, Jeff Race, was too sick to play Monday.

Lope Padilla (men’s 4.5), Dodong Salinas (men’s 3.0), J.W. Jang (men’s 40-and-over), Dinalet Jones (women’s 3.0/2.0), Heo and Cody Race (boys’ 16-and-under), Clay McCullough-Stearns (boys’ 12-and-under), and Mikyla Lopez and Kris Obaldo (girls’ 12-and-under) won their respective divisions last Sunday.

NMITA president Eli Buenaventura, meanwhile, thanked the main sponsor of the 2008 DFS Micronesian Championships for making the tournament possible again this year, despite the tough economic times currently being experienced by the islands.

“On behalf of the NMITA officers, I wish to thank Duty Free Shoppers, Ltd. for their unprecedented support to the 27th DFS Micronesian Tennis Championships. I am also equally grateful to Pacific Islands Club for the use of their courts and waterpark facility. And lastly, my heartfelt thanks to the many participants and volunteers who came from different directions to help make the championships a huge success,” he said.