Malika prevails in rematch vs Conatsu

Malika Miyawaki makes a baseline return to Conatsu Kaga during their girls U14 singles title match in the 16th PIC Tennis Championships yesterday at the Pacific Islands Club hard courts.
(Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Malika Miyawaki made it two in a row against Conatsu Kaga this season after pulling off a three-set victory in their title game in the girls U14 singles in the 16th PIC Tennis Championships yesterday at the Pacific Islands Club hard courts.

Miyawaki prevailed in the weekend rematch, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, to duplicate her title conquest against the same foe in the 7th Annual Tan Holdings Tennis Classic held last November. She downed Kaga, 6-3, 6-3, in the first tournament of Northern Mariana Islands Tennis Association for the 2015-2016 season.

Kaga and Miyawaki faced off anew after they swept their respective semis assignments. At the top half of the draw, Miyawaki ousted Riko Ojima, who marched into the Final Four following a 6-1, 6-4 triumph over Rei Sekiguchi last Friday. At the bottom half, Kaga defeated Maria Gregoire, 6-2, 6-3, last Saturday. Earlier last Friday, Gregoire had a similar 6-2, 6-3 win over Susan Sablan to set up a semis date against Kaga.

Meanwhile, two other junior girls singles events were played in the opening week of the Pacific Islands Club-organized tournament with the top-ranked Carol Lee and Conatsu’s sibling Coume winning their respective divisions.

The heavily favored Lee delivered as expected after ruling the girls U16 singles contest. She drew a bye in last Friday’s opening round and automatically advanced to the semifinals where she was pitted against Asia Raulerson. Lee went on enter the finals following a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Raulerson, who played in the U16 for the first time after claiming the U14 crown in last week’s 2016 White Coconut Classic and earned the right to face Lee in the semis after knocking out Ami Tsukagoshi, 7-5, 6-3.

Lee’s finals foe was Mimi Sakano, who eased her way to the championship game after winning via default over Tania Tan (ill). Lee shut down Sakano in the opening set, 6-0, and capped her domination in the girls’ U16 finale with a 6-1 win in the second.

In the girls U12 singles title match, Coume labored in three sets to thwart perennial rival Ericka Tuttle. The younger Kaga took the first set, 6-4, but failed to close out the match early when Tuttle came back with a 6-3 triumph. In the deciding third set, Coume had enough gas left on her tank to pull away, 6-1.

Coume made in to the finals after topping Michelle Ryu in the semis, 6-2, 6-0. Ryu, on the other hand, bagged a semis berth following a 6-3, 6-2 win against Anika Camacho at the upper half of the draw. At the lower half, Tuttle blanked Thaileena Raulerson, 6-0, 6-0, to force another title showdown against Coume.

Tuttle and Coume met in the girls U12 singles division finals of the Tan Holdings Classic with the latter getting her first championship of the season after registering a 6-3, 6-4 victory against the former.

Besides the girls juniors singles, three boys juniors singles events and adults doubles were played in Week 1 of the PIC tournament and results will be reported in Saipan Tribune’s Tuesday and Wednesday issues.