Sunday, April 13, 2008 Tabotabo routs American in 1st round
VINCE Mark Tabotabo successfully thwarted American Kerr Lucas of Carlsbad, California, 6-0, 6-0, in the first leg of the Road to the Little Mo Nationals yesterday at the Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego, California.
The Road to the Little Mo Nationals is a circuit of tournaments held throughout the US all year long and will culminate in a national final at the end of each year.
The first stage of this circuit is the Southern California Sectionals, which is held at the Barnes Tennis Center.
The diminutive Tabotabo, who was born and raised in Tuburan, joined the 2007 Little Mo National, as a wildcard entry in the Boys 10 division.
He had to brave through a series of matches before making it to the main draw, where he faced the qualifiers from the year-long series and wound up sixth place overall.
This year, Tabotabo hopes to snag a slot to the nationals of the Boys 11 by competing in one of the circuits.
Having been drawn in the upper bracket, Tabotabo will be facing a gargantuan task as he is right away matched against top-ranked player Jack Barber of La Jolla, California for today’s quarterfinal round. Tabotabo is the only non-American in the 16-man draw of the Boys 11 division.
The winners in the sectionals will get automatic slots to the main draw of the national finals. (MCB)
