OH WINS THIRD STRAIGHT GIRLS TENNIS TITLE

The 2025 ISA High School Tennis League concluded on Thursday afternoon as the last four games were played at the John F. Kennedy courts. The brackets began last Friday and continued throughout the week, culminating in the podium matches. 

Singles

In the championship match, Guam Adventist Academy junior Charlotte Oh faced Leah San Agustin, a talented freshman playing in her first year of high school tennis from JFK. Although the odds were in favor of Oh who entered the match undefeated and as the defending champion, San Agustin showed remarkable resilience, turning the match into a thrilling contest. In the end, however, Oh emerged victorious with an 8-6 win, claiming her third consecutive championship title.

The game began with Oh taking a 3-0 lead, settling into the game comfortably. San Agustin did not back down, and immediately responded by winning the next two games. As the match progressed, both players hit smooth and consistent shots, but Oh managed to come out with a 6-3 lead. 

With the gold medal just a few games away and the many spectators standing by the fences, Oh seemed to lose focus, hitting multiple double faults and missing simple shots. San Agustin capitalized on Oh’s mistakes and added her own topspin forehand winners, bringing the score to a tie of 6-6. 

“I wasn’t playing well, and seeing everyone on the fences watching made me more nervous,” Oh shared.

With the crowd cheering after every point and the momentum in favor of San Agustin, Oh had difficulty maintaining her composure and nerves. She somehow managed to break San Agustin’s three game streak to bring her one game away from the victory, 7-6. 

The following game San Agustin refused to let the championship game slip away, hitting clean fast-paced shots, while Oh missed yet another serve, bringing the score to 15-40 in favor of the Islander. In a miraculous comeback, Oh rallied consistently to tie the game at 40-40 sudden death. With both players feeling the pressure, Oh managed to outlast San Agustin who hit an unforced error, giving the Angel a nail-biting 8-6 win. 

Oh noted on her opponent’s skill, “Leah was a really good opponent. I’m glad I was able to win in the end, but it could’ve gone either way.” 

The third place match proved to be an even tighter matchup between George Washington’s Caily Poblete and Tiyan’s Emelia Salas. These two juniors had nerve-wrecking quarterfinals and faced yet another close game. After extremely long rallies, the game was tied at 7-7. In the tiebreaker, Poblete won by only two points, 7-5, to secure her bronze medal. 

Doubles

In the doubles realm, the finals saw yet another Angel vs. Islander matchup. JFK’s Rianna Bocago/Eliana Cruz went into the game with confidence as the only undefeated team. On the other side of the net, GAA’s Junseo Youn/Sky Pareja were the third seed, vying for the top spot. The Islanders took the gold in this final, taking charge over the Angels, 8-4.

From the start, the Islander team proved to be too much for the Angels as Bocago put away decisive volleys at the net while Cruz added hard and consistent shots from the baseline. The Angels were still able to keep it close with the Islanders, only down by one game at 4-3.

The Islanders, however, allowed the Angels one more game after that, ending the doubles championship in a decisive 8-4 victory.

In the doubles bronze medal match, Okkodo’s Aiyana Bonto/Hillary Brewer dominated over JFK’s Aemilia Miranda/Valeen Verango, winning 8-2 and a spot on the podium.