10 gold, three silver for Jr. Nat’l Tennis Team in Guam; 14 qualify for POJC

Battling the elements and themselves, the NMI Junior National Tennis Team overcame everything and came out strong as the top performers, winning 10 gold medals and three silver medals in the 2026 International Tennis Federation’s North Pacific Regional Championships in Guam, held from Feb. 2 to Feb. 7.

As for the upcoming Pacific Oceania Junior Championships in Fiji from April 10-18, NMI will be well represented, with 14 of its best junior players qualifying. They are Isaiah Arriola-Mook, Tim Watson, Gabriel Walsh, Fiona Yu, Aileen Kim, Harper Loken, Daniel Kang, Matt Zhu, Cody Park, Stella Choi, Ryan Choi, Anne Lee, Vivian Chung, and Selina Chi.

Notably, the NMI 12U boys team made up of Isaiah Arriola-Mook, Tim Watson, and Gabriel Walsh defeated Team Guam for the first time in years, while the girls team made up of Fiona Yu, Aileen Kim, and Harper Loken swept the 12U division on Thursday, Feb. 5.

On the last day of matches, Anne Lee captured the girls 16 singles title and the doubles title with partner Stella Choi, while Vivian Chung placed third in the same division, and Ryan Choi claimed first place in the boys 16 singles.

In the 14U category, Daniel Kang emerged as the boys singles champion and doubles champion with partner Matt Zhu, while Stella Choi finished second in the girls singles. The 12U division saw dominant performances from Fiona Yu, who won the girls singles title, and Isaiah Arriola-Mook, who topped the boys singles field. Cody Park and Seungwoo Lee bagged silver in the boys 14 doubles, while Ryan Choi teamed up with FSM’s Prinze Skilling for second place in the boys 16 doubles.

Ryan Choi, Arriola-Mook, and Lee, in an interview with Marianas Press, all said they were happy and proud of their performance in Guam. First time NPRC/POJC competitor 10-year-old Arriola-Mook shared that during his match, he thought to himself, “If you know you’ve prepared, you shouldn’t be nervous because you know you’ve prepared the whole time. Tennis is such a mental game so I was just thinking, ‘don’t lose it, just don’t lose the next point, and you’ll eventually win.’”

When asked about the toughest part of the competition, 14-year-old Choi said it was really hot during their matches and that he was cramping during his finals, with Arriola-Mook also saying he cramped up too because he played the whole day. As for 15-year-old Lee, she said the weather was unpredictable, with it being hot one moment and raining the next, which also delayed some games.

Despite the challenges, they pushed through and won their matches, and the three qualified for the 2026 POJC. Choi, who will be competing there for the fifth time, said he’s looking forward to competing at a higher level and winning. Arriola-Mook, who will be competing there for the first time, said he's really excited. “There’s two months to prepare and I’m really excited to work hard and see the competition there,” he said.

For Lee, who will be competing there for the third time, she said she’s looking forward to seeing and playing against the competition, hopefully facing new players, and hopes to win this time around.

Listen to the whole interview on our social media and on YouTube.