Three top Jehovah-Jireh tennis

Three upcoming junior tennis players made their marks in the Inaugural 2008 Jehovah-Jireh Tennis Tournament held over the weekend at the Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan tennis courts.

Carl Dela Cruz, Kevin Rhee, and Tiffany Madlangbayan stood out among 28 other participants in the weekend netfest winning the Levels 3, 2, and 1 divisions.

Dela Cruz claimed the championship trophy in the Level 1 competition after outlasting Kennedy Isuka in the closely fought finals match, 8-6.

Dela Cruz started his bid in Level 1 with a 6-3 win over Adelle Hudkins. He moved to the semifinals after whipping Morris Villanueva, 8-1.

Isuka also won his opening match, beating Jack Sharer, 8-4. In the semifinals, Isuka prevailed over Grant Rhee, 8-2, before muffing his title bid against Dela Cruz.

Aaron Lee settled for third after defeating Grant Rhee in the consolation match, 8-7 (7-5).

Hudkins dropped to fifth, followed by Emily Jones.

In Level 2, Kevin Rhee defeated Sakura Imaya in the finals, 8-3. Kevin whipped Jason Gamboa first, 8-4, and moved into the title match after topping Alex Park in the semis, 8-2.

Imaya won over Laurea Briosos in the quarterfinals, 8-1, and against Tomo Hatamata in the semifinals, 8-3.

Gamboa secured third place after outclassing Julian Briosos, 8-4, and Clayton Isuka, 8-4.

Joining Kevin and Dela Cruz in the champions’ circle was Madlangbayan, who ruled Level 1 after thwarting Airi Hatamata in the finals, 6-3. Madlangbayan first prevailed over Kyung Ryung Kim, 6-4, and earned a finals ticket after beating Tae Il Kim in the semis, 6-3.

Airi walloped Seung Jae Kim in her first match, 6-1, and advanced to the finals after thwarting Gio Song, 6-3.

Tai Il Kim and Sam Soledad finished third and fourth, respectively. Tae Il Kim won over Alfie Madlangbayan, 6-3, and A.J. Hudkins, 6-4, while Soleded defeated Kyung Ryung Kim, 6-3, and Song, 6-2.

The Top 4 placers in each level received trophies. Each level featured a mixed of boys and girls players.

Coach Peter Loyola organized the tournament and said he decided to have a co-ed tournament and divide players based on their skill levels to have a balanced competition.

Besides the trophies for the Top 4 finishers Loyola also handed out sportsmanship awards to three players, namely Clayton Isuka, Alfie Madlangbayan, and Seung Jae Kim.

Loyola thanked the following for making the tournament possible: Lydia Tan and family, Vicky Isuka and family, the Fiesta Resort staff, tournament official Ken Imaya, Fiesta Resort sports and recreation manager Chris Fizer, and division room manager Ronel Sunga.

More than 30 players joined the junior tournament, which served as a warm-up for next month’s NMITA Fall Classic Champinship.

Loyola said he will be hosting a tournament for adult players next month after the Fall Classic.