Thea shines in swan song

Thea Minor steps back for a return during one of the tournaments this year at the Pacific Islands Club hard courts. (ROSELYN B. MONROYO)

Thea Minor capped her junior tennis career in style, winning the girls U18 singles crown in the 2014 CNMI Junior Tennis Championships last Wednesday at the Pacific Islands Club Saipan tennis courts.
Minor survived Mikayla Lopez in the extended opening set of their title match, 7-6 (8-6) and then coasted to a 6-0 victory in the second to top the division. It was Minor’s sixth straight girls U18 singles championships in the same tournament, making her the lone CNMI player to achieve that feat.

“It feels great to end my junior tennis career with a winning streak. The CNMI Junior Championships is an important tournament of the year before the ITF because besides getting a regular trophy, there is another special trophy, which is the perpetual trophy and your name is included with the past champions. Six years of winning is so amazing, it’s history in CNMI tennis,” the Saipan Southern High School senior said.

The 18-year-old player bagged her first crown in 2009 after prevailing against sister Theecel, Dina Jones, and Jodel Fernandez in a round-robin tournament. In 2010, Minor defeated Lila Mailman in the finals and the former made in three in a row after downing Mikayla Lopez in 2011. In 2012, Thea was paired against her older sister and won anew, while last year, the younger Minor got her second win against Lopez.

Thea went on to arrange a rematch against Lopez for the girls U18 tiara this season, as they both topped Negahr Rastguiy in Week 1 of the annual competition. The Minor-Lopez title showdown was originally set for Sunday, but games were rained-out and the match was reset for last Wednesday. At the resumption of play at the PIC tennis courts, Minor and Lopez went back and forth in the opening set before the former pulled off the tough win and saved more energy in the second to rout the latter.

Minor said she is comfortable playing against Lopez and she came to last Wednesday’s important game without pressure despite having to put her title defense and streak on the line.

Meanwhile, after completing her junior tennis career, Minor is heading to Roswell, New Mexico after receiving a full athletic scholarship from the New Mexico Military Institute. In New Mexico, she will be reunited with former Pacific Oceania ITF development officer Dan O’Connel, who is now coaching the Bronco.

“I’m looking forward to playing more competitive matches in college tennis,” Minor said.