Cruz cruises to men’s open singles win

  Bobby Cruz dethroned Jeff Race after notching an 8-3 win in the men’s singles finals of the 2012 White Coconut Tennis Classic yesterday at the American Memorial Park tennis courts.

Besides taking this year’s championship in the men’s singles, Cruz also avenged his semis loss to Race last year. Race topped Cruz in the 2011 semis, 8-6, to arrange a finals duel against Peter Loyola, who eventually lost to the former in the title game, 6-8.

Cruz set up a finals showdown against his former Micronesian Games teammate after an 8-2 triumph over junior player Rafael Jones last Saturday. Race also downed a junior netter in Christian Miller, 8-4, to earn a return trip to the finals. Miller and Jones battled for the consolation game yesterday with the former winning the extended match, 9-7.

Cruz and other winners in the two-weekend tournament were recognized in yesterday’s awards ceremony. Joining Cruz in the champions list were Mikayla Lopez, Carl Dela Cruz, Theecel Minor, Robbie Schorr, Carol Lee, Malika Miyawaki, Luther Lizama, and Ken Imaya.

Lopez topped the round-robin girls U15 singles with her undefeated 4-0 record, while Negahr Rastguiy and Lee came in at second and third with their 3-1 and 2-2 slates, respectively. Lopez gained her second singles crown when she defeated Jodel Fernandez in the women’s singles finals, 8-1.

In the boys U15 finals, Dela Cruz edged Seiya Eda, 8-4, Eda booked a finals berth after stunning second seed Moris Villanueva in the semis, 8-4, while Dela Cruz advanced, following an 8-5 triumph against Tommy Choi.

In the U18 division, Minor clinched the girls championship after sweeping the round-robin competition, beating Amy Arenovski, Fernandez, and Alina Ishikawa. The boys crown went to Miller, who slipped past Amami Sakano in the finals, 8-4.

In the U12 division, Lizama and Lee prevailed over separate foes to take the championship. Lizama posted two wins over the weekend to win the boys division. He first downed Clayton Izuka in the semis, 8-5, and then edged Alex park in the finals, 8-5. Park marched into the finals after an 8-2 win over Michael Jones. Lee was the top seed in the girls U12 and lived up to expectations when she beat the second-ranked Isabel Heras in the finals, 8-4.

Schorr was not among the Top 4 players in the boys U10, but stunned the No. 1 seed Cole Chambers in the semis, 6-2, and then topped Tony Atalig in the finals, 6-1, to rule the 11-player field. In the girls division finals, Miyawaki defeated Mimi Sakano, 6-4.

In the men’s 40-and-above singles, which had a round-robin format, Ken Imaya was undefeated to win the championship against Nakajiima, Gary Ramsey, and Joe Quitugua.

Meanwhile, results of the mixed-up doubles will be published in Saipan Tribune’s Wednesday edition.

In the men’s singles, it will be a battle of the coaches between Race and Loyola. Race advanced after downing Bobby Cruz in the semis yesterday, 8-6, while Loyola defeated Raj Rai in the other semis pairing, 8-2.