Connect with us

GSPN

USITA-LEE, OKUHAMA RETAIN 2017 ISLAND-WIDE TENNIS TITLES

The Island-Wide Tennis singles titles didn’t change hands in 2017 as both Derek Okuhama and Tara Usita-Lee retained their tourney championships Thursday afternoon at the Ninete Tennis Court.

Okuhama brings his best in finals repeat win

By Jay Leon Guerrero

St. John’s Tennis standout Derek Okuhama faced a lot of adversity this season but stepped up when it mattered most. He entered the IIAAG Singles Tournament as a fourth seed and eliminated the first and second seed players to repeat as the All-Island champion.

St. John’s Knight Derek Okuhama

Okuhama defeated league MVP Camden Camacho from FD in the semi-finals and then defeated second seed Sidney Gadsden from Guam High in the finals to repeat as champion. Okuhama defeated Gadsden 8-3 in the finals at the Hagatna Tennis Courts.

“I tried to forget about all of the standings. I just try to play as hard as I can and forget all of the seeds,” said Okuhama. Okuhama faced Gadsden last year and won 8-6 in a competitive match.

This year, the two slugged it out to open up the match with Gadsden taking the opening set. It was back and forth in the beginning with Okuhama clinging to a 4-3.

“We had a lot of long rallies, just like my match yesterday (against Camacho). I knew if I won those long rallies it would give me a mental edge,” said Okuhama.

The two battled it out but it was Okuhama’s day, winning the close sets to repeat as champion.

“Sidney had a great tournament, he deserved to be in the final match”, said Okuhama. Gadsden won a thriller the day before, an 8-7 comeback victory against third seed Mason Caldwell from Harvest. “He plays well in the All-Island tournament, it was a great comeback battle yesterday against Mason. Hes a fighter and it was an honor to play against him today,” said Okuhama.

This is his second consecutive title and he hopes the high level competition will continue year. “This will definitely motivate all the players”. He hopes someone from St John’s will continue the winning streak to keep the title in his school.

“I’m hoping someone from St John’s can come back and represent our school well next year,” said Okuhama. His teammates will have to contend against FD’s Camacho who will be and senior and Caldwell from Harvest who will be a junior next year.

Both Okuhama and Gadsden are seniors and they both look to continue to play tennis in college. “It’s still in the works, I’m looking to play for a college in the west coast.”

Usita-Lee serves up second-straight IIAAG Singles Title

By Robert Balajadia

Cougar Tara Usita-Lee

Cougar junior Tara Usita-Lee has retained her status as the Singles Tennis Champion, finishing an unbeaten season once again on top. Usita-Lee topped the #2 ranked Knight Anika Sachdev (8-4).

“I just needed to be one step ahead of her,” said Usita-Lee on the approach. “I had quite a few double faults and [Anika] was giving me a tough time on my serves.”

It was just the icing on the cake for Usita-Lee and the Cougars after also reeling in the team title a week ago.

“Winning as a team was great since we all worked really hard to get there. Even when coach said we didn’t have practice, our team came out anyways to get some court time in. We really wanted to win a championship,” added Usita-Lee.

Usita-Lee overcame every challenge the season presented her. She began her title defense after defeating Harvest Eagle in the quarterfinals (8-3) and then getting by Eagle Lily Xu (8-5) in the semifinals. And the competition is only getting tougher.

“We have more and more people joining tennis every year and they are competing and really trying to improve, which makes it a tough league. I put in a lot of work training, but the players in the league are putting a lot of training too,” said Usita-Lee on the state of the league.

Doubles Winners

The top seeded Cougars Mikhailla Alcantara and Joycelyn Tenai defeated the Sanchez Sharks duo of Crishka Caballero and Andrea Ibardalasa (8-3) to begin the Finals tourney in the Girls Doubles A Division.

In the Girls Doubles B Division, Okkodo Bulldogs Dominique Dela Cruz and Jayne Ortida defeated Eagles Luna Puangco and Rona Wang (8-4).

PHOTO GALLERY BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

Ad

GPS Sports Calendar

August

September 2023

October
SU
MO
TU
WE
TH
FR
SA
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
Events for August

1st

Events for September

2nd

3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Events for September

3rd

Events for September

3rd

No Events
Events for September

5th

Events for September

6th

Events for September

7th

Events for September

8th

Events for September

9th

10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Events for September

9th

No Events
Events for September

11th

Events for September

12th

Events for September

13th

Events for September

14th

Events for September

15th

Events for September

16th

17
18
19
20
21
22
23
Events for September

17th

Events for September

18th

Events for September

19th

Events for September

19th

No Events
Events for September

21st

Events for September

22nd

Events for September

23rd

24
25
26
27
28
29
30
Events for September

23rd

No Events
Events for September

25th

Events for September

26th

Events for September

27th

Events for September

28th

Events for September

29th

Events for September

30th

1
2
3
4
5
6
7

COMING SOON …

  • High School Football starts Sept. 29
  • Brawl 3: Oct 13
  • Guam’s Strongest Man and Woman Competition October 29

 

QUICK HITS

The Figo Islanders 40s women’s softball team took gold in the Senior Softball World Championship in Las Vegas. Figo came out of the loser’s bracket and beat the Arizona Belles 17-3 in the AA division championship game Sunday afternoon.
Other Guam teams that played in the 40s tournament were: Team SOTTA (women’s) and Bud Light Guam, Friars 671 and Sindalun Guahan (men’s).
Sindalu finished a respectable 4th out of 24 AAA division teams.
——————————————————-
In Guam’s first time competing in the FIBA Asia Cup, we draw China, Japan, and Mongolia in Group C. Competition begins in 2024. Guam also moves up the FIBA world rankings to #76.

More in GSPN