Two Hawaii Pacific Section Juniors Advance in the International Federation (ITF) Hawaii Junior Tournament

Doubles matches begin tomorrow at the Patsy. T. Mink Central Oahu Regional Park Tennis Complex

Honolulu, HAWAII (May 4, 2009) – Two boys from the Hawaii Pacific Section join all the tournament seeds in the next round of the 2nd annual International Tennis Federation (ITF) Hawaii Junior Tournament, presented by the USTA Hawaii Pacific Section and the City and County of Honolulu. The event is being held at the Patsy. T. Mink Central Oahu Regional Park Tennis Complex, May 4 - 10, 2008.

Carter Lam of Honolulu defeated Michael Elortequi of Carmel, California 7-6 (8), 0-6, 6- 3. Lam, locally ranked No. 7 in the Boys’ 18 will face No.3 seed Emmet Egger of Issaquah, Washington. Egger, a singles and doubles semifinalist in last year’s ITF Hawaii tournament easily advanced by beating Daniel Castelao of Mexico 6-0, 6-1.

Matt Westmoreland of Pearl City, Hawaii advanced at 7-6(4), 0-6, 5-1 when Thailand’s Bramee Wongbanchai retired of cramping in the left leg. Westmoreland is locally ranked No. 1 in the Boys’ 18 will challenge No. 1 seed Robert Howe of Australia. Howe was a singles finalist and doubles quarterfinalist in last year’s ITF Hawaii tournament and most recently played in the 2009 Juniors in January.

All other singles seeds in both the boys’ and girls’ draws moved forward to the next round. All singles matches begin promptly at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow.

First-round doubles matches are scheduled to start at 12:00 p.m. Top seeds in the Boys’ Doubles draw are Egger and Dane Webb of Richardson Texas and the Australian team of Howe and William Kwok are seeded No. 2. Charlotte Calhoun of Dallas, Texas and Juliana Gajic are the No. 1 Girls’ Doubles team and Annie Mulholland of Bradenton, Florida and Ellen Tsay of Pleasanton, California are the No. 2 seeds. -more- A total of eight Hawaii Pacific Section junior players entered this high-profile junior tournament:

BOYS GIRLS Matthew Westmoreland of Pearl City Demetria Woods of Pearl City James Lee of Honolulu Tara Watumull of Honolulu Marcel Chan of Kailua Scout Shutter of Kailua Carter Lam of Honolulu Julia Weisel of Kehei

In addition to the United States, top junior tennis players from 12 additional countries are entered:

Australia Canada Czech Republic Denmark Germany Great Britain Japan Malaysia Mexico Philippines Thailand Uzbekistan

###

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) is the world governing body of tennis, one of the few truly global sports. The objective of the ITF is to further grow and develop the sport worldwide, to develop the game at all levels at all ages for both able-bodied and disabled men and women, to make, amend and uphold the rules of the game, to promote the International Team Championships and competitions of the ITF, to preserve the integrity and independence of tennis as a sport, and to perform all without discrimination on grounds of color, race, nationality, ethnic or national origin, age, sex or religion. The ITF Junior Circuit is the highest level of tournaments for players aged 18 & under. The ITF Junior Circuit is made up of 338 tournaments in 114 countries and mirrors the Professional Circuits. Players gain ranking points by participating in tournaments and the top players progress up the rankings to qualify to play in the Junior Grand Slams. The ITF Junior Circuit is a stepping stone for the tennis stars of the future. The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the U.S. and the leader in promoting and developing the growth of tennis at every level -- from local communities to the highest level of the professional game. It owns and operates the US Open, the highest attended annual sporting event in the world, and launched the Olympus US Open Series linking 10 summer tournaments to the US Open. In addition, it owns the 94 Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S., and selects the teams for the Davis Cup, Fed Cup, Olympic and Paralympic Games. A not-for-profit organization with 720,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds in growing the game. For more information on the USTA, log on to usta.com

Media Contact: Melissa Ann Pampulov Director of Marketing & Communications (808) 987-2551 [email protected]