MULAN Kamoe won the girl’s under-16 singles title during the Pacific Oceania Junior Championship at the Regional Tennis Complex in Lautoka.
Kamoe defeated runner-up Ayana Rengiil of Palau 6-3, 7-5.
She teamed up with Vinda Teally of the Solomon Islands to win the girl’s doubles.
Natabua High School student Rubu Coffin and Emma Maucotel of Vanuatu took out the girl’s U14 doubles title.
East Pacific with the inclusion of players from Tahiti won the regional championship.
West Pacific made up of players from Fiji, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands was second while North Pacific was third.
International Tennis Federation Pacific Oceania development officer Darren Wrighton said there was keen interest from the participants.
Wrighton said East Pacific lifted the bar at the tournament this year.
“The tournament was fantastic and we had great interest from the three corners of the Pacific, which is the East, West and North,” he said
“The East Pacific team was really strong this year with the inclusion of players from Tahiti who really boosted their ranks.
“They trained well and had a competitive streak with the enthusiasm of the Tahitian coaches who helped them to the top level.
“This sets the bar very high for the two other zones, to see how the Tahitian coaches worked with the East Pacific players showing their professionalism.”
Wrighton said the junior development program was progressing well in the region.
He said some juniors had been eyed to represent their nations at next year’s Pacific Games in Papua New Guinea.
“We are really building the skill level of the players, not only performance wise but are starting to get those participating levels high which is very important,” Wrighton said.
“The Pacific Games is next year and some of the players in the U16 category have been nominated to represent their country in it.”
