Thea caps NZ stint in style

CNMI junior tennis player Thea Minor capped her impressive return trip to New Zealand with another doubles crown and a finals appearance in a singles event.

Minor competed in the 2008 Auckland Christmas Tournament at the Scarbro Tennis Centre in Nicholson Park, Mt. Eden, Auckland and it was her last stop after playing in Waikato and Poverty Bay.

The tested partnership of Minor and Tarani Kamoe of Fiji gave ITF Pacific Oceania Touring Team its third doubles championship in New Zealand this year.

The unseeded tandem of Minor and Kamoe stunned the No. 2 seed pair of Georgina and Kirsty Hayr of Royal Oak, Auckland in the girls’ 14-and-under doubles finals in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1.

Kamoe and Minor started their uphill climb en route to their third doubles title with a 9-0 shutout win over No. 8 seed Charlotte Findlay and Kate Stevens of Remuera in the Round of 16.

In the quarterfinals, Minor and Kamoe were pitted against the unseeded pair of Jade Lewis and Sarah Reid with the Pacific Oceania duo taking a 9-3 triumph.

Minor and Kamoe then caught a bigger fish in the No. 1 seed tandem of Mia Middleton and LuciaYoung cruising to a 6-1, 6-3 win in the semis.

The Pacific Oceania pair picked up where they left off with another sweep of its second-ranked foes.

In the girls’ 14-and-under singles, Minor also made it to the title match before bowing to the much taller and much stronger Louise Oxnevad of Queensland in the finals.

Minor, who played four games a day before her title tiff against Oxnevad, lost to top seeded foe, 0-6, 0-6.

The 13-year-old Minor advanced to the championship game after beating Annie Shannon for the second straight time in the semis, 7-6, 7-5.

Minor was unseeded, again in the girls’ 14-and-under singles and advanced to the Round of 16 after crushing No. 11 pick Nadia Coombes, 6-2, 7-6.

The CNMI netter continued stunning seeded opponents when she downed the No. 2 ranked Alexandra Oliver of Mairangi Bay in the quarterfinals, 6-4, 7-5.

Despite losing in the singles finals, Thea’s mother, Joy, was satisfied with her daughter’s performance in New Zealand, especially in Auckland.

“She saved the best for last. She started slow in Waikato, picked up her game in Poverty, and then gave her best in Auckland. Beating the No. 2 seed was an achievement and playing against the No. 1 seed improved her game,” Joy said.

She added that she liked the kind of focus her daughter had shown in New Zealand

“They’ve been traveling from one place to another. From Poverty Bay, they traveled by land to Auckland for seven hours and after only a few minutes of rest, Thea played right away and made a strong showing in those games,” the elder Minor added.

Minor also played in the girls’ 16-and-under, won two matches before bowing to Oxnevad, 1-6, 2-6, in the Round of 16.

Joining Minor in Auckland were fellow CNMI netter Christian Miller and Rafael Jones, who were both first timers in New Zealand. Thea was part of the ITF Pacific Oceania Team that was in New Zealand last year.

Miller competed in the 128-man draw of the boys’ 14-and-under singles, drew a bye in the first round before losing to Nathaniel Humphrey in the round of 64, 9-7.

Jones also drew a bye in the first round of the same event, won his Round of 64 match, beating James Valentine, 9-5, before bowing to No. 8 seed Joe Collins in the Round of 32, 0-6, 4-6.

The CNMI bets are returning to Saipan tomorrow morning.

Minor is bringing home three doubles title and three runner-up finishes. She never had a shutout in the three tournaments in New Zealand.

Minor and Kamoe won the girls’ 14-and-under doubles in Waikato and were runner-ups in the girls’ 16-and-under.

In Poverty Bay, Minor and Kamoe also topped the girls’ 14-and-under doubles. The CNMI bet played in the girls’ 14-and-under singles finals, but lost to Kamoe in the title match.