Kang slips past Kwon in title game

Daniel Kang labored his way to a title win in boys U14 singles event in the Saipan International School Student Council Tennis Tournament, as he needed three sets to beat David Kwon in their championship game last Sunday at the Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan tennis courts.

The top-ranked Kang defeated Kwon in the opening set, 4-2, but failed to finish off his foe, as the former eked out a 4-3 triumph in the second. Then after the heartbreaker in the second set, the former member of the CNMI National Junior Team was back to his dominant self, crushing Kwon, 5-1, to rule the eight-player field.

Kang’s three-set victory over Kwon came after the former took only two sets to down Jun Wang in the semifinals, 4-3, 4-3. Kwon, on the other hand, marched into the championship round after outclassing Anthony Gregoire in their semis duel, 4-1. 0-4, 5-0. Gregoire joined Kang and Kwon in the Top 3 after routing Wang in the battle for third place, 6-1, while Andrew Chung also won another consolation game and finished fifth in the division following a 6-2 victory against Daniel Nam. Danny Lee and Dylan Mister were the other competitors in the boys U14 singles.

In the girls U14 division, Serin Chung topped the round-robin contest after earning a 2-0 record. She secured the title after slipping past Helen Kim last Saturday, 4-3, 3-4, 5-0. Serin’s other victory was against her sister Irin, 4-1, 4-0, while Kim also defeated the latter, 4-1, 4-2, to settle for the runner-up honors.

Joining Serin and Kang on the champions list of the singles events were Tony Kim, Irin Chung, and Juncheol Hwang.

Hwang clinched the boys U12 singles crown following a 4-1, 4-0 triumph over June Yu yesterday. Hwang also topped Dong Hyun Lee in straight sets in their semis game last Saturday, 4-0, 4-1, to notch the first finals berth. Yu, on the other hand, went the distance against Andy Lee, 3-4, 4-1, 5-2, to march into the finals. Dong Hyun Lee edged Andy Lee in the consolation match yesterday, 6-4, to complete the Top 3 in the division.

Despite losing in the finals of the girls U14 singles, Irin did not go home empty handed, as she took with her the tournament’s U12 singles title. Irin rallied past Savita Sikkel in the finals, 1-4, 4-3, 5-3. Anna Kwon joined Irin and Sikkel in the podium after outlasting Dana Lee in the third place match, 7-6 (5-2).

In the boys U18 singles finals, Kim eked out a 4-1, 4-5 (3-4), 5-2 win over Sam Ryu. Kim and Ryu arranged their championship showdown after sweeping Kang, 4-2, 4-1, and Andy Kim, 4-2, 4-1, respectively, in the pair of semis matches. Kim ended up at third place after nosing out Kang, 6-4.