Torrecampo shines in Valle Verde; Suarez M-cup gets going in Biñan
MARISTELLA TORRECAMPO used her skills in offsetting her height disadvantage to upset top seed Ave Maria Policarpio, 6-0, 6-2, and bag the girls’ 14-and-under crown in the Valle Verde National Juniors Tennis Championships in Pasig City Monday.
The straight-set win came after Torrecampo dispatched No. 2 Ayl Gonzaga, 6-2, 6-0, in the semifinals with the third-ranked rising star from Naga City in Camarines Sur sustaining her form to topple Policarpio, who reached the finals with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Lilith Rufino.
Torrecampo also dominated the 12-and-under play where she dropped only five games in four matches capped by a 6-0, 6-2 win over Ella Paglalunan in the final, making her the sole two-category winner of the Group 2 tournament presented by Dunlop at the Valle Verde Country Club courts.
No. 5 Al Tristan Licayan, on the other hand, crushed Samuel Davila, 6-1, 6-1, to claim the boys’ 16-andunder title as the Geneneral Trias, Cavite bet shared most valuable player honors with Torrecampo in the event held under the Palawan Pawnshop junior program led by president and CEO Bobby Castro.
The other winners in the weeklong tournament sanctioned by the Philippine Tennis Association and the Universal Tennis Rating online platform were Ariel Cabaral and Mica Emana (18-and-undeer), Sandra Bautista, Alexander Coyiuto, Marcus Go and Raven Licayan.
Darwin Cosca Jr. and Chloe Mercado, meanwhile, brace for spirited battle as the Fr. Fernando Suarez M-cup National Juniors Tennis Championships kicks off Thursday in Biñan, Laguna.
Presented by Rep. Len-len Alonte-naguiat and Dunlop, the Group 2 tournament features over 250 entries vying for top honors and ranking points, utilizing three courts at the South City Recreational Tennis Center, the Southville and the Filinvest courts.
Cosca and Mercado gain the top seedings in the premier 18-and-under division with the boys’ roster also drawing such talents as Ariel Cabaral, siblings Frank and France Dilao, Al Tristan Licayan, Gerard Manigque, Lervin Cunanan and Nathan Andal.
On the girls’ side, Mercado, looking for redemption after a recent finals defeat to Mica Emana in last week’s Valle Verde meet, leads the charge, alongside Sandra Bautista, Ronielle Oliveros and Erynne Ong, in the event dedicated to the late healing priest, who was a tennis enthusiast and supporter.