Andrada Cup Group 1 tennis tourney under way

MANILA, Philippines - Top notch matches among the country’s leading junior netters and rising stars kick off hostilities in the Andrada Cup Group I tennis tournament today at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.

Camille So and Andrea Nicole Amistad square off at 10 a.m. in the girls’ 14-and-under singles with the winner taking an early test against top seed Erika Mae Manduriao, who is gunning for a second straight crown after topping last month’s PSC/Philta netfest.

No. 2 Dominique Ong tangles with Charito Capadocia at 11 p.m. in the lower half of the draw, while third seed Maia Balce and No. 4 Mariz Gonzales face off with Kylia Orillosa and Carla Arreza, respectively, in the weeklong event held in honor of Philippine sports commissioner and long-time tennis patron Buddy Andrada.

The top four seeds in the girls’ premier 18-and-under class take opening round bye with No. 1 Marian Capadocia clashing with the winner between the Macy Gonzales-Rachelle de Guzman match. Second seed Samantha Coyiuto will meet the winner of the Marinel Rudas-Monivic Santos duel.

In the 16-and under category, top seed Roxanne Resma, also a winner in the recent PSC tilt, battles Ellysa Mae Uy while No. 3 Angela Sunga collides with Jana Hernandez.

In boys’ play, top seed Calvin Canlas will take on the winner of the Mikee Tan-Peter Dabalar duel at 12 noon while No. 3 Andrew Cano faces the victor in the Paolo So-Nico Ignacio match in the centerpiece 18-and-under division.

In the 16-and-under class, Cenon Gonzales Jr. and Stefan Suarez mix it up for the right to face top seed Eric Olivarez Jr. while No. 2 Angelo Gonzales will meet the winner of the Carlo Ramiscal-Nico Ignacio duel at 2 p.m.

No. 1 Julian Dayrit and second seed Jerome Romualdez will take on the winners in the Jose Austria-Ivan Cunanan and Marraphael Teng-Angelo Cerezo duels, respectively, in the featured match-ups in the 14-and-under group.

Other events on tap are the girls’ and boys’ 12-and-under divisions and the 10-unisex category. Draw sheets and order of play are posted at the bulletin board at the RMTC and also on Facebook (search for 23rd Andrada Cup).