Schorr on a roll, tops Kim

Robbie Schorr notched his third straight boys U14 singles crown after surviving Tony Kim in their division title duel, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5, in the 15th PIC Tennis Championships yesterday at the Pacific Islands Club hard courts.

Robbie Schorr makes a backhand return from the baseline during his boys U14 title duel against Tony Kim in the 15th PIC Tennis Championships yesterday at the Pacific Islands Club hard courts.
(Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Schorr fought back from an early deficit, 1-3 and flirted with a sorry loss as he also went down, 4-5, before rallying in the more than two-hour match to extend his win streak in his age group this season. The 13-year-old junior player won the first two tournaments under the 2014-2015 calendar of Northern Mariana Islands Tennis Association as he defeated Vincent Tudela in both the Tan Holdings Tennis Classic and Coconut Tennis Classic.

In the PIC tournament, Schorr, a losing semifinalist in the same contest last year, boosted his chances to win the division this time after sweeping his first two matches. He downed Hwan Woo Chin in the quarterfinals, 6-0, 6-1, and also eased past Ken Song in the upper bracket semis, 6-1, 6-0. Song made it to the Final Four after a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Clayton Izuka, a 6-0, 6-0 winner against Allan Lee, while Chin set a quarterfinals date with Schorr following a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 win against Jeffrey Seo.

In the lower half of the draw, Kim beat Haruya Eda in the quarterfinals, 6-1, 6-3, and foiled another Schorr-Tudela title tiff after eliminating the latter in the semis, 6-1, 6-4. Eda earned the right to face Kim in the semis after ousting A.J. Hudkins, 6-1, 6-3, while Tudela marched into the Final Four after a 6-0, 6-1 triumph over Steven Goodwin, a 6-2, 6-3 victory against Joshua Abragan.

Meanwhile, two other junior players bagged division championships in the opening week of the annual tournament.

Luther Lizama took the boys U18 singles crown after prevailing in a round-robin contest. He avenged his finals lost to Colin Ramsey in last month’s Coconut Tennis Classic, after sweeping the latter in last Friday’s first match, 7-5, 6-2. Lizama then secured the division crown following an easy 6-0, 6-0 victory over Woon Sun Cho last Saturday. Ramsey settled for the runner-up honors as he also dominated Cho yesterday, 6-1, 6-1.

In the girls U18 singles, Carol Lee nailed her second straight division crown after beating Mikayla Lopez anew, 6-3, 6-4.

Lee, who topped Lopez in the finale of last month’s Coconut Tennis Classic, arranged a rematch with the latter after ousting Isabel Heras in the semis, 6-0, 6-0. Heras advanced to the Final Four following a 6-3, 6-4 win against Julia Ishikawa in the upper half of the draw.

In the lower half of the draw, Lopez prevailed against Ami Tsukagoshi in the quarterfinals, 6-1, 6-1, and over Negahr Rastguiy in the semis, 6-4, 6-2 for another finals appearance in the girls U18 singles.

Meanwhile, results in other junior singles and adults doubles will be reported later this week.