Heras delivers in girls U16 singles

Isabel Heras stretches for a baseline return to Ami Tsukagoshi during their semis game in the girls U16 singles division of the 7th Annual Tan Holdings Tennis Classic last Sunday at the Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan tennis courts. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Top-ranked Isabel Heras lived up to expectations after winning the girls U16 singles championships in the 7th Annual Tan Holdings Tennis Classic last Sunday at the Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan tennis courts.

Heras clinched the division crown after sweeping the second-seeded Tania Tan in finals, 6-4, 6-4. Heras arranged the title duel against Tan following a 6-1, 6-3 semis triumph over Ami Tsukagoshi, who advanced to the Final Four after eliminating Guam’s Alyssa Merletti, 6-1, 6-2, last Friday in the upper half of the draw.

At the lower half, Tan also took only two sets to prevail in her semifinals match against Mimi Sakano, 6-2, 6-3. Sakano, on the other hand, shut down Guam’s Victoria Smith to barge into the semis and the former went on to settle for third place after beating Tsukagoshi in the consolation match last Sunday, 8-2.

Meanwhile, Coume Kaga and Malika Miyawaki completed the girls singles champions circle in the 2015 edition of the annual tournament after ruling their respective divisions.

Kaga bagged the girls U12 crown after topping the six-player field. The top-ranked player drew a bye in the opening round and eased her way through the semifinals following a 6-0, 6-0 win against Susan Sablan, 6-4, 6-2. Sablan earned the right to challenge Kaga after ousting Sunny Hyun, 6-0, 6-0.

Following her semis sweep against Sablan, Kaga faced No. 2 seed Erika Tuttle in the finals and the top-ranked Kaga won, 6-3, 6-4, to get the division crown which she missed last year after losing to older sister Conatsu. Before bowing to Coume, Tuttle defeated Michelle Ryu in the semis, 6-1, 6-0, while the latter downed Anika Camacho, 6-2, 6-1, to march into the semifinals.

Ryu dropped to the consolation game, which Sablan won, 8-2, to join Coume and Tuttle in the Top 3. The Top 3 finishers in the opening week of the two-weekend tournament will be honored in the awards banquet this Sunday at the Hibiscus Hall of the Fiesta Resort.

Miyawaki is among the top awardees as she notched the girls U14 singles crown following a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Conatsu in their title game at the Hyatt Regency Saipan courts last Sunday. Miyawaki was the No. 1 seed in the nine-player draw and had to gain two wins to make it to the finals. She posted a 6-2, 6-1 win over Maria Gregoire, a 6-2, 6-2 victor over Guam’s Joycelyn Tenai, to move into the semis. In the Final Four, Miyawaki faced a tougher opponent in Coume, as the former needed three sets to thwart the latter, 3-6, 6-2, 10-1.

Coume advanced to the semis after beating Merletti, 6-0, 6-1, while her sibling Conatsu topped Riko Ojima in the quarterfinals, 6-0, 6-1, and stunned second-ranked Asia Raulerson in the semis, 6-0, 6-2, to force a finals showdown against Miyawaki. Raulerson redeemed herself after the upset loss with an 8-2 win over Coume in the consolation match.

Meanwhile, results in the boys U12 and U16 singles along with the junior doubles events will be reported in Saipan Tribune’s Wednesday issue.