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CNMI jr. netters start NPQ bid today
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Posted on Jun 12 2011
The last bulk of CNMI junior tennis players participating in the 2011 North Pacific Qualifying Tournament left Saipan yesterday morning in time for the start of the competition in Guam today.
The group is composed of Jazmin Rayphand, Carol Lee, Alina Ishikawa, Chris Cajigan, Luther Lizama, Jake Lee, Carl dela Cruz, and Amami Sakano. They were accompanied by CNMI coach Jeff Race are expected to reunite with other team members Rafael Jones, Thea and Theecel Minor, Christian Miller, Angelo Jones, Seiya Eda, Mikayla Lopez, Melody Johnson, Moris Villanueva, Colin Ramsey, Michael Ren, Michael Jones, Negahr Rastguiy, Tammy Ackerman, and Emily Jones.
Race is positive that the very prepared CNMI Junior Team will dominate the NPQ anew.
“I am confident that we can top five of the six events in the NPQ, as our players have been playing great and solid tennis as shown in our past tournaments,” Race said.
The NPQ will feature competitions in the boys and girls U12, U15, and U18 age groups.
Race said the CNMI’s toughest event will be the boys U12 where Dela Cruz and Villanueva are expected to battle the title against Guam’s Derek Okuhama.
Rafael Jones and Thea Minor will be favored in the U18, while Christian Miller is the player to beat in the boys U15. Rastguiy ruled last year’s girls U12, stunning Palau’s Ayana Rengiil of Palau, and she is aiming for back-to-back titles. Another top contender for the CNMI is Lopez, who dominated the U15 division of local tournaments for the last two years.
Besides host Guam and Palau, the CNMI bets will be battling tennis players from the Federated States of Micronesia.
Winners in the tournament that will run starting today until Friday will represent the North Team to the 2011 Pacific Oceania Junior Championships and the Oceania Closed Junior Championships in Fiji in August.
Only the Top 2 finishers in the U18 age group and Top 4 in the U15 and U12 will earn slots on the North Pacific Team.
