by Ian Marshall, Editor
Impressively a 3-0 win was recorded against the combination of Argentina’s Florencia Chirino and Peru’s Camila Cancino, before the same victory margin was secured when facing Chile’s Natalie Ramos and Macarena Montecino.
Equally, it was success for Brazil, the top seeds; one fixture still to complete, Tamyres Fukase and Livia Lima made the ideal start by posting a 3-0 win in opposition to Chile’s Javiera Saavedra and Giovanna Guessi.
Success for Brazil and Ecuador; for the second seeded Chilean duo comprising Valentina Rios and Jerusalen Flores, as well as for the next in the order of merit, Paraguay’s Leyla Gomez and Natasha Ruiz, there were problems. Valentina Rios and Jerusalen Flores experienced a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Brazil’s Giulia Takahashi and Laura Watanabe; impressively Valentina Rios beat both Laura Watanabe (11-4, 11-6, 11-8) and Giulia Takahashi (11-8, 11-9, 10-12, 11-6) but that was the sum total of host nation success.
Disappointment for Valentina Rios and Jerusalen Flores; however, having recorded a 3-1 win against Peru’s Alejandra Medina and Alessandra Cisneros, the door for progress to the main draw remains open. Teams finishing in first and second positions in each of the four first stage groups gain quarter-final places.
Conversely, the door for Paraguay’s Leyla Gomez and Natasha Rios is closed; the no.3 seeds, they experienced a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Chile’s Mariam Ruiz and Natasha Ruiz before experiencing the same outcome when facing the combination of Canada’s Benita Zhou and Brazil’s Amy Sekimoto.
Meanwhile in the cadet girls’ team event Peru’s Ana Aragon, Maria Maldonado ended the day unbeaten as did colleagues Alejandra Preto and Delia Soria. Similarly, the host nation combination of Sofia Vega, Fernanda Avaneda and Constanza Mesas enjoyed a day without defeat, a situation that applied to their colleagues Romina Barrientos, Sofia Perez and Maria Valenzuela.
Play in both the junior girls’ team and cadet girls’ team events concludes on Thursday 21st March.
