Anne Lee sweeps U18, women’s division titles in SIS tourney

Saipan International School’s Anne Lee stole the spotlight with a dominant performance in both the adult and junior divisions as SIS’ annual tennis tournament neared its conclusion. The tournament has nearly wrapped up, with only a few matches remaining after rain delays disrupted play.

The adult and high school divisions were contested over the rainy weekend of Jan. 23-25, while the junior division was completed earlier, from Jan. 16-18, at the American Memorial Park and Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan tennis courts.

Lee swept both the Women’s and U18 girls divisions, capturing the Women’s 5.0 Singles title over Stella Choi after clinching the U18 girls championship ahead of Vivian Chung.

The younger Choi put up an impressive fight, battling through a tough first set, but ultimately falling, 6-7. Gassed out, Choi’s momentum dropped and Lee took advantage to seal her win with a convincing 6-0 final set.

In the adult divisions, Cody Park claimed gold in the Men’s 4.0 Singles after winning all three of his matches, while John Kenneth Casauran grabbed silver. John Bradley topped the Men’s 3.0 Singles field, with Tim Watson finishing second.

In the Mixed 3.0 Doubles play, Jacky Chen and Yoyo Han took first place, followed by the team of John Bradley and Miki Zhou. The Mixed 5.0 Doubles title went to June Yu and Vivian Chung, edging out Siwoo Lee and Amy Park.

The Mixed 4.0 Doubles, High School Doubles, and Men’s 5.0 Singles divisions remain unfinished and are scheduled to be completed this week, weather permitting.

Junior division play also wrapped up with strong performances across age groups. In Mini Tennis, the youngest of the age groups at 10 years and below, James Su earned gold, followed by Annabella Zhu, then John Kim.

Siwoo Lee took gold in the U18 boys division with Jyle Landicho finishing second, Matt Zhu claimed the U16 boys title over Daniel Kang. Daniel Kang then turned things around and topped the U14 boys field ahead of Matt Zhu. In the U14 girls division, Fiona Yu finished first, followed by Scarlett Loken.

Isaiah Mook led the U12 boys division with Evan Zhang placing second, while in doubles action, Fiona Yu and Tim Watson won the U12 Mixed Doubles title over Gabriel Walsh and Harper Loken. Daniel Kang and Vivian Chung paired up to capture the U16 Mixed Doubles championship ahead of Matt Zhu and Jenna Pascual.

Head organizer and SIS senior Irin Chung said the turnout of this year’s event was a good one with more than 50 participants in both the youth and adult divisions. Every year, SIS holds this tournament to fundraise for their Student Council for their school events such as prom and others. But this year, she said they’re donating 50 percent of their funds raised to the NMI Tennis Federation.

Chung’s sister Serin, who’s in college now, was the organizer of the tourneys in the past. With Irin now in the helm, she said, “I’ve been a part of it for I think four years now, so it was alright. It takes a lot of time but I have other people helping me, so it’s good.”

The sponsors were Mr. Dave/Burger Comer & Associates, Jean/Spicy Thai, Sean Frink/Marianas Legal Strategy Group, Chris Zou, Erick/Marianas Business Plaza, Challenge Testing Inc., TEST Saipan, The Water Company, Pacific Islands Club, Yewon Restaurant, Latte Built Gym, Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan, Cafe 670, Brabu Pharmacy, and NMI Tennis Federation, along with help from Toby Watson.