By James Sablan
[email protected]
Variety News Staff
BUILDING on their early dominance at the International Tennis Federation’s North Pacific Regional Championships in Guam, the athletes of the NMI Junior National Tennis Team maintained their relentless pace during Wednesday’s matches. They solidified their progress in the qualifiers and showed no signs of fatigue across the U12, U14, and U16 age groups.
The NMI U12 athletes demonstrated depth in both singles and team play, handling high-pressure situations with veteran-like composure.
In the boys division, NMI secured a perfect 3-0 victory over Nauru. Gabriel Walsh set the tone with a 6-0, 6-0 win against Akow Goroka Scotty, while teammate Isaiah Arriola-Mook defeated Baraq Itaia, 6-0, 6-1. The doubles pair of Arriola-Mook and Timothy Watson completed the sweep, shutting out their opponents, Itaia and Scotty, 6-0, 6-0.
The girls division proved tougher. In a close battle against Palau, Aileen Kim outlasted Victoria Rudimch, 6-3, 6-2, while Fiona Yu defeated Carlia Sadamori in a three-set match, 2-6, 6-4, [10-5]. However, NMI’s Harper Loken and Yu fell short in the doubles event, losing 0-6, 1-6 to Rudimch and Sadamori.
In the individual brackets, NMI’s top-ranked players continued advancing. Youngwoo Stella Choi delivered a flawless performance in Girls Singles U14, defeating FSM’s Selma Shoniber 6-0, 6-0, while top seed Anne Lee maintained her streak with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Nauru’s Ester Itaia in Girls Singles U16. In Boys Singles U16, Jeongwoo Ryan Choi dominated Guam’s Calvin Caceres 6-0, 6-0, while Daniel Kang stayed on track in Boys Singles U14 with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over FSM’s Noah Hawley.
NMI’s doubles teams remained a key strength. In U14, Seungwoo Lee and Jin Ho Cody Park delivered a 6-0, 6-0 win against Palau’s Shallum Etpison and Guam’s Noa Shiral. Meanwhile, Selina Chi and Scarlett Loken defeated FSM’s Tatiana Kilafaken and Selma Shoniber 6-1, 6-0, ensuring that NMI is the team to beat.
James Sablan has been a sports reporter for Variety since 2013. He was a liberal arts student of Northern Marianas College and covers all local sports.
