Ji Hoon, Thea, Rafael top pools in POJC

Ji Hoon Heo, Thea Minor, and Rafael Jones topped their respective pools in the 2008 Pacific Oceania Junior Championships yesterday even as Mayuko Arriola and Christian Miller absorbed their first setbacks at the Robin Mitchell Regional Tennis Centre in Lautoka, Fiji.

After opening up with two wins Monday, Heo shrugged off a shaky start to beat Ian Honila of Solomon Islands, 1-6, 6-0, 6-3.

The 16-year-old Marianas High School student thus topped Pool A of the boys’ 18-under division with a 3-0 win-loss record, followed by Honila (2-1), Chris Sami of American Samoa (1-2) and Vicky Reddy of Fiji (0-3).

Other pool winners in the age group are William O’Connel of Fiji (Pool B), Prince Matuatia of Samoa (Pool C), and Heo’s practice partner and friend Lorenzo Pineda of Vanuatu (Pool D).

Minor also topped Pool B of the girls’ 13-under after following up her Day 1 victory with a 6-2, 6-3 conquest of Lorish Puluspene of Papua New Guinea.

Puluspene wound up with a 1-1 record and Simuko Afemui of Tonga was winless in two outings in pool play.

Other pool topnotchers in the girls’ 13-under were Annie Shannon of Fiji (Pool A), Samuelle Bull of New Caledonia (Pool C) and Tarani Kamoe of Fiji (Pool D).

Rafael Jones duplicated Heo’s and Minor’s feats in Pool A of the boys’ 13-under as he followed up his two victories on opening day with a hard-earned 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 6-4 victory over Christian Duchnak of American Samoa.

Duchnak wound up second in Pool A with a 2-1 record with PNG’s John Mart Kaiulo (1-2) and Fiji’s Darshal Patel (0-3) bringing up the rear.

Other pool winners in the division are Robin Marove of PNG (Pool B), Clement Coarraz (Pool C), and Karl Yomes (Pool D).

Incidentally, Marove took the top spot in his pool after beating the CNMI’s Christian Miller, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3. It was Miller’s first loss in the three games.

However, Miller, like other runners-up in their pools, advanced to the knockout phase of the tourney where they will square off against topnotchers from other pools.

Also ending up with the same fate as Miller’s is Mayuko Arriola, who was relegated to second fiddle in Pool B of the girls’ 18-under after taking a 6-3, 3-6, 2-6 loss to PNG’s Marcia Tere-Apisah.

Dina Jones, meanwhile, dropped her second game in three matches in the 2008 POJC after losing to eventual Pool D topnotcher Zinnia Leamana of Solomon Islands, 2-6, 6-7 (3-7).

Other girls’ 18-under pool winners are Steffi Carruthers of Samoa (Pool A) and Litia Godinet of American Samoa (Pool C).

The CNMI junior netters are accompanied in the 2008 POJC tournament by the Commonwealth’s longtime national tennis coach Jeff Race, who also used to serve as captain of the Pacific Oceania Davis Cup team. The 2008 POJC will run from Aug. 11 to 15 at the International Tennis Federation’s regional training center.