Tan, Beling clinch singles crowns

Luke Beling notched the co-ed Open singles title, while Tania Tan this time finished on top of the field, as the 6th Tan Holdings Tennis Classic concluded last Sunday.

Beling, who won the men’s Open singles crown last year against Jeff Race, was pitted against junior player Moris Villanueva in the 2014 finale and swept his way to the title with a 6-0, 6-2 win last Sunday at the Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan tennis courts.

Beling, a teaching pro at Fiesta, arranged a finals showdown with Villanueva after eliminating female player Negahr Rastguiy last Saturday, 6-0, 6-1. Rastguiy, one of the only two female players in the draw, forged a semis date with Beling following a tough 3-6, 6-3, 16-14 victory over Michael Ren last Friday.

Villanueva, on the other hand, booked a finals berth after prevailing against the injured Bobby Cruz last Saturday, 4-6, 7-5 (retired). The win was Villanueva’s second, as he earlier booted out Luther Lizama last Friday, 6-1, 6-3. Cruz also played last Friday and downed the other female player in the field—Mikayla Lopez, 7-5, 6-4.

Tania Tan goes for a backhand return against Julia Ishikawa during their women’s 4.0 singles game in the 6th Tan Holdings Tennis Classic last Sunday at the Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan tennis courts. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

In the women’s 4.0 singles, Tan, who settled for runner-up honors in the women’s 2.0 singles last year, ruled the round-robin competition this season. She clinched the division crown after outlasting doubles partner Julia Ishikawa last Sunday, 3-6, 6-2, 6-1. Tan was unbeaten in the division as she also topped Malika Miyawaki, 6-0, 6-1. Ishikawa defeated Miyawaki, too, 6-1, 6-3, to get the runner-up honors.

In the men’s 4.0 singles, Robbie Schorr was perfect in three games to rule the division.

Schorr started his string of wins with an impressive 6-0, 6-0 triumph over Isagani Cortez last Friday. Then last Sunday, Schorr met doubles partner Steven Goodwin in a morning match at the Hyatt Regency Saipan tennis courts and won, too, 6-1, 6-1. Schorr returned to Hyatt in the afternoon for the division title-deciding game against Vincent Tudela and kept his unbeaten record with a 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 victory.

Before losing to Schorr, Tudela won his first two games in the division. Tudela began his title bid with a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Goodwin last Friday, while the former’s second win came last Saturday versus Cortez, 6-3, 6-1.

In the men’s over 40 singles, Raj Rai dethroned Gary Ramsey after registering a 6-3, 6-1 win in their title duel last Sunday.

Ramsey, who topped last year’s round-robin tournament, moved one win away from his second straight division crown after eliminating Bob Webb last Saturday, 6-4, 6-4. In the other semis pairing, Rai booted out Fr. Ryan Jimenez, 6-3, 6-1.]

Meanwhile, the mixed doubles and women’s and men’s doubles events of the annual tournament were also played last weekend and results will be reported later this week.