Guam netters top Saipan rivals

The Guam-Saipan showdown in the men’s open doubles division of the 9th Annual PIC/Gatorade Tennis Championships ended in favor of the visitors.

Guam’s Lency Tenai and Torgun Smith outlasted Kirk Schuler and Peter Loyola in three sets of their title match in the men’s open singles Sunday at the Pacific Islands Club hard courts.

The former Davis Cupper and Guam Tennis Academy coach Tenai and Smith took the opening set, 6-1, before Schuler and Loyola found their rhythm in the second set and nailed a 6-1 triumph.

In the third set, Tenai, who is also Guam’s national coach, and Smith raced to a 3-0 lead and never looked back, as they managed to break Schuler and Loyola’s service.

The former Drake University standout Schuler and Loyola failed to keep their momentum in the deciding third set, as they were lost against Tenai’s tricky ball placing.

Tenai and Smith, a co-founder of GTA, advanced to the title match after beating CNMI coach Jeff Race and former junior player Nicholas Son in the semis, 6-3, 6-3.

Schuler and Loyola, a tennis instructor at Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan, claimed the second finals ticket after outclassing Guam’s Bill Camacho and Ben Dunn, 6-2, 6-7, 6-4. Camacho and Dun moved into the semis after a 5-7, 6-1, 6-3 triumph over Saipan’s Dunn Dunlop and Nicky Nichols.

Eight other pairs joined Tenai and Smith in receiving top prizes during the brief awards ceremony hosted by PIC’s Lindsey Sosovec.

Veterans Eli Buenaventura and Roy Pangelinan ruled the eight-team men’s 4.0, beating the team of Dunlop and Nichols in the finals, 6-4, 7-6 (12-10). Dunlop and Nichols won in the semifinals over Reo Arriola and Nanding Cajigan, 6-4, 6-4, while Buenaventura and Pangelinan topped Muna Gurung and Tosiba Beltau in the other semis match, 6-2, 6-4.

In the men’s 4.0 finals, the tandem of Jorge Olanda and Mario Buensuceso prevailed over the duo of Ryan Cho and Edward Amia, 6-2, 6-2. Buensuceso and Olanda downed Ed Ramangmou and Sathiyan Kalarikkal in the semis, 6-1, 6-4, to set up a title match against Amia and Cho, who defeated J.R. Ngeskebei and Rodel Macasinag, 7-5, 6-3.

In the round-robin women’s open doubles, Cleofe Santos and junior player Thea Minor won over Lydia Tan and Sally Wong, 6-1, 6-0.

The mixed open doubles title went to the pair of Race and Wong, who thwarted Tan and Loyola in the finals, 6-4, 6-2. Race and Wong topped Thea Minor and Lope Padilla in the semis, 6-3, 6-4, while Loyola and Tan won over Kirk and Carrie Schuler, 6-2, 6-3.

In the mixed 4.0 finals, the husband-and-wife tandem of Eun Kyoung and Dong Min Lee outclassed the pair of Tishia Sonota and Jonathan Frasco, 6-4, 7-5.

In the juniors division, Daniel Park and Christian Miller reigned in the boys’ 14-and-under category after walloping Nathan Nutting and Chris Cajigan in the finals, 6-4, 6-4.

In the girls’ 14-and-under finals, Theecel Minor and Melody Johnson won over Amy Arenovski and Neghar Rastguiy, 6-0, 6-3. Arenovski and Rastguiy did not go home empty-handed, as they topped the girls’ 10-and-under division after downing Gabrielle Race and Tammy Ackerman in the finals, 6-0, 6-0.

In the boys’ 10-and-under finals, Carl Dela Cruz and Colin Ramsey prevailed over Clayton Izuka and Alex Park, 8-1.