GAA’S WYATT OH UPSETS MVP MANALO IN ISA TENNIS FINALS

By Paradis Jolie Fejerang

Guam’s scorching sun was working overtime during the final day of the ‘24 high school tennis championship matches. The female doubles teams took to the courts first and, despite the heat, the champs from Tiyan, Emelia Salas and Franshae Danieli, shared that the difficult weather might have helped them in the end as they believe feeling as hot as they were led to better focus during the game.

As for the winner for the males singles, Guam Adventist Academy junior Wyatt Oh, was thankful that a bit more clouds seemed to have appeared by the time he had to get onto the court to face Okkodo’s Bryce Manalo, whose loss is an upset for the season since being named ISA’s tennis MVP.

Boys Singles

Unfortunately for Bryce Manalo, being named MVP was not enough to win the gold. On the other side of the court, Wyatt Oh, found himself both a bit stressed out and very prepared as he knew facing Manalo was going to be a feat. “[Winning against Manalo] feels good…even though he’s the MVP I still wanted to give my all to the game,” stated Oh.

Throughout his winning matches, Oh was fully aware of what was carrying him to the end: “My serve. In the first five or six games, my serve really pulled me through. It made some games really easy to win so I could focus [when receiving].”

Still, as a junior, he is planning on coming back next year and taking another gold to close out his high school career with his plan of attack already prepared. “Same strategy. Keep on training and keep on loving tennis.”

Girls Doubles

Tiyan High has been consistent with strong competitors in girls doubles for the past few years and their 2024 team did more than step up to the plate.

Challenging GAA’s Sarah and Jaira, the Titans shared that they have been playing together since they started high school last year and although they switched between teammates throughout the season, the duo was ecstatic in being together to win the championship.

Adding to their focus, the girls put in some extra practice over the weekend and share that a lot of their synergy is due to being friends and hanging out together outside of tennis practice. 

Final Placements

1. Emelia Salas & Franshae Danieli(THS)
2. Jaira Kim & Sarah Miyagi (GAA)
3. Eliana Cruz & Rianna Bocago (JFK)

Overall Team Scores

Girls

1. Guam Adventist Academy
2. John F. Kennedy High School
3. Tiyan High School

Boys

1. Guam Adventist Academy
2. John F. Kennedy High School
3. Okkodo High School

PHOTO GALLERY BROUGHT TO YOU BY: