Newly Crowned Champions Spearhead Argentine and Brazilian Hopes
2015 Latin American Junior and Cadet Championships
Courtesy of ITTF
June 22, 2015 – Fermin Tenti and Bruna Takahashi, the respective winners of the Junior Boys’ Singles and Junior Girls’ Singles titles at the recently completed Puerto Rico Junior and Cadet Open, lead their respective countries in the team events, which commence proceedings at the 2015 Latin American Junior and Cadet Championships.
Staged in Aguada, the same venue as used for the ITTF Junior Circuit tournament, proceedings commence on Tuesday June 23rd and conclude on Sunday 28th.
Defending Junior Boys’ Singles champion, winner last year when the competition was staged in the Colombian city of Medellin, Fermin Tenti lines up for Argentina alongside Horacio Cifuentes, Francisco Sanchi and Santiago Tolosa.
Leading Outfits
They are the top seeds in the Junior Boys’ Team event; notably at the Puerto Rico Junior and Cadet Open, both Horacio Cifuentes and Francisco Sanchi reached the latter stages of the Junior Boys’ Singles event, while earlier in the year on the ITTF Junior Circuit, Horacio Cifuentes won in Paraguay.
The main challenge to Argentina, as is very much the norm in Latin America, comes from their arch sporting rivals, Brazil. They select from Gustavo Yokota, Isaac Zauli, Vitor Santos and Rodrigo Yonesake.
Next in line is the host nation, Puerto Rico, with Ecuador completing the top four seeds.
Brian Afanador leads Puerto Rico; he is supported by Yomar Gonzalez, Sebastian Echevarria and Ivan Vargas. For Ecuador the line-up reads Emiliano Riofrio, Marlon Vite, Adrian Cabrera and John Espinoza.
Good Form on ITTF Junior Circuit
Likewise in the Junior Girls’ Team event, it is the top seeded spot for Bruna Takahashi; she leads the Brazilian Challenge being supported by Leticia Nakada, Alexia Nakashima and Martina Kohatsu.
In a similar manner to Argentina in the Junior Boys’ Team event, Bruna Takahashi is supported by players who impressed at the Puerto Rico Junior and Cadet Open. Alexia Nakashima reached the quarter-finals, Leticia Nakada advanced to the penultimate round.
Peru with Andrea Guzman, Janina Nieto, Paola Mori and Micaela Regaira on duty occupy the second seeded position in the Junior Girls’ Team event with Puerto Rico and El Salvador completing the top four names.
Adriana Diaz leads Puerto Rico and lines up alongside Lineris Rivera, Gabriela Diaz and Ana Poala Rivera; for El Salvador the names listed on the team sheet read Emme Arias, Gabriela Suarez and Monica Mendoza.
Brazil Heads List
Top seeds in the Junior Girls’ Team event; Brazil occupies the top seeded position in both the Cadet Boys’ Team and Cadet Girls’ Team competitions.
Rafael Torino, Guilherme Teodoro, Eduardo Tomoike and João Gabriel Santos form the Brazilian Cadet Boys’ Team; for the girls the squad comprises Fernanda Kodama, Vitoria Ucima and Luana Katsumata.
Next in Line
Argentina with Martin Bentancor, Emmanuel Lara, Matias Velarde and Alexis Orencel on duty occupy the second seeded spot in the Cadet Boys’ Team event, with the Mexican quartet of Jessica Cuellar, Melissa Rivera, Veronica Gomez andAbril Castaneda being the second seeds on the Cadet Girls’ Team competition.
Entry
A total of 14 national associations are represented in the Team events – Argentina, Aruba, Barbados, Brazil, Chile, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago.
Notably Brazil, Mexico and Puerto Rico field outfits in all four team events.
In addition, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and Venezuela are scheduled to field players in the individual events which commence on Thursday June 25th .
Format
All Team events are organized on the World Championships format of five singles matches should the contest go the full distance.
2015 Latin American Junior and Cadet Championships Schedule, Players & Seeding
Schedule of Play; Participating National Associations and Entries; Seeding for Team Events
TEAM Events: Junior Boys, Junior Girls, Cadet Boys, Cadet Girls
Visit ITTF.com for more information.
