Fifth in a row for Thea

Junior player Thea Minor recorded the longest winning streak in the history of the PIC Tennis Championships after notching her fifth straight women’s open singles crown in the 12th edition of the annual competition last weekend.

Minor, who started her run in the women’s open singles in 2008, extended her reign in the division, following a straight set win over fellow junior player Mikayla Lopez in last Saturday’s finals, 6-4, 6-3. Minor also defeated Lopez in last year’s finale, 6-2, 6-0; downed Lydian Tan in 2010, 6-0, 6-0; topped Jodel Fernandez in 2009, 6-1, 6-1, and again triumphed over Fernandez and Matty Buenaventura in the round-robin event in 2008.

In the men’s open, Todd Montgomery won the championship he last claimed in 2005 after surviving Bobby Cruz in Sunday’s finale, 7-5, 2-6, 6-3. Montgomery, who won over against Faheem Ebrahim in 2005, missed the next six editions of the PIC tournament, leaving former junior player Ji Hoon Heo the chance to rule the men’s open field. Heo prevailed in the men’s open for four straight years (2007-2010), while former Fiesta Resort and Spa Saipan instructor Peter Loyola and CNMI coach Jeff Race won in 2006 and 2011, respectively.

Montgomery, who also took the men’s doubles crown, teaming up with Tim Quan in beating Christian Mille and Cruz, was seeded first in the men’s open singles and drew a bye in the first round.

The eventual men’s open champion then first played last Saturday against junior netter Rafael Jones and won, 6-1, 6-3. Jones earned the right to face Montgomery in the semis after slipping past Russel Buenaventura last Friday, 6-1, 5-7, 6-1.

In other first round matches, Cruz eliminated Vivian Lee, 6-3, 6-0, to arrange a semis tiff against Quan, who also ousted Dong Min Lee, 6-3, 6-1. Cruz went on to advanced to the finals after beating Quan, 6-3, 6-4.

Two more men’s singles and one women’s events were played over the weekend with Chris Cajigan, Darrel Roligat, and Kinumi Taniguchi topping their respective fields.

Cajigan claimed the men’s 4.0 singles crown after sweeping Chang Whan Jang in the finals, 6-3, 6-2. Jang made it to the semis after downing Gary Ramsey, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, while Cajigan defeated Carl Dela Cruz in the other semis duel, 6-2, 6-1.

In the men’s 3.0 singles, Roligat won the battle among PIC staff members, as he triumphed over Glenn Policare in the semis, 8-0, and versus Dennis Tababa in the finals, 8-3. Tababa marched into the finals after an 8-4 win over Keoni Ichihara.

In the round-robin women’s 3.0, Taniguchi thwarted both Malika Miyawaki, 6-0, 6-0, and Emily Jones, 6-3, 6-0, to clinch the championship.