By Roselyn B. Monroyo
Variety News Staff

JUNIOR tennis player Ji Hoon Heo continued to assert his might in Open division contests after winning in the 7th Annual PIC Pepsi Tennis Championships over the weekend at the Pacific Islands Club hardcourt.
Heo, who started joining Open division tennis late last year and has had numerous successes, dethroned 2006 champion Peter Loyola after notching a straight set victory in yesterday’s finals, 6-2, 6-3.
The 15-year old junior netter easily cruised past Loyola taking advantage of the latter’s fatigue.
Loyola came from a three-set thriller against another junior netter Nicolas Son in the semifinals. The Fiesta Resort tennis instructor dropped the first set of their match last Saturday, 1-6. He played extended minutes in the second set before pulling off a 7-5 triumph and completed a come-from-behind win with a 6-2 triumph in the third set.
Loyola returned to the finals against a well-rested Heo, who had whipped Keisuke Takaki in straight sets in the other semis match, also last Saturday, 6-1, 6-0.
Son advanced to the semis after downing Tomonori Imazato last Friday, 6-1, 6-0, while Loyola drew a bye in the opening round.
Minutes after his loss to Heo, Loyola stayed at the tennis facility and watched his students Eric Abragan and Dr. Hormaz Dastoor slug it out in the men’s 3.0 finals.
Abragan drew first blood, 7-5, but Dastoor secured the championship after sweeping the last two sets, 6-3, 6-1.
Other division top winners were Matty Buenaventura, Karen Ramsey, Arthur Borromeo, Thea and Theecel Minor, Neghar Rastguiy and Christopher Cajigan.
Buenaventura won the women’s Open division after downing Ellen Uy, 6-0, 6-0.
Ramsey topped the women’s 4.0, which had a round-robin format. Ramsey had a 2-0 record defeating Melanie Daly last Sunday, 6-1, 6-2 and Lois Dewitt, 6-4, 6-1. Lewitt placed second after topping Daly, 6-4, 6-4.
In the men’s 4.0, Borromeo escaped past Richard Brostrom in the finals in three sets, 6-2, 2-6, 6-2.
Borromeo moved into the finals after thwarting Steve Nutting, 6-4, 6-4, and junior netter Russell Buenaventura, 6-3, 6-4.
Brostrom advanced to the championship match after slipping past Dong Min Lee (forfeit), Father Ryan Jimenez, 6-4, 6-4, and Sonny Decena, 6-4, 7-6.
In the women’s 12-and-under division, Theecel downed Michaela Grandinetti, 6-3, 6-2, while sister Thea nipped Christian Miller in the men’s 12-and-under finals, 6-3, 2-6, 6-0.
Miller moved into the finals after beating Angelon Jones, 7-5, 6-2, while Thea earned a title berth after topping Nathan Nutting, 6-1, 6-0.
Rastguiy won over Emily Jones to rule the women’s 9-and-under division, while Cajigan claimed the 9-and-under division after tripping Dylan Ackerman in the finals, 7-6.
Cajigan gained a finals entry after winning over Quintin Ramsey, 6-0, while Ackerman advanced after defeating Colin Ramsey, 6-4.
Meanwhile, the doubles competitions in the annual netfest will be played next week. The deadline for the submission of entry forms is set for April 4.
For more information, contact Evan Hunsberger at 235-6231 extension 5147, or email at activitymgr@picsaipan.com.