By Manuel Moreno Jr.
Contributor
Published July 12, 2010
Three local juniors advanced to the semifinals of the Houston Tennis Association Championship Major Zone tennis tournament.
Friendswood’s Cindy Tiu and Matt Kibikas, and League City’s Michelle Raji each won three rounds in their respective singles competitions before being eliminated.
Tiu, the No. 2 seed in the girls’ 18-and-under “red” division, drew a first-round bye before beating Uvalde’s Yonelle Aromin in the second round, 6-1, 6-2, and Sugar Land’s Mary-Jo Villar in the quarterfinals, 6-0, 6-1.
But in the semifinals, Tiu lost to Richmond’s Amanda Materre, 6-1, 6-0.
Kibikas, seeded No. 1 in the boys’ 16s “red” division, started off with a 6-2, 6-1 first-round victory over Houston’s Creed Abell, then knocked off McAllen’s Shubhodeep Mukherji in the second round, 6-2, 6-1.
Kibikas continued his winning ways with a 7-5, 4-6, 1-0 super-tiebreaker quarterfinal victory over Sugar Land’s Akash Jayram but was upset in the semifinals by Portland’s Charles Horseman, 6-4, 6-1.
As for Raji, she was seeded No. 2 in the girls’ 14s “white” division.
After receiving a first-round bye, Raji proceeded to beat Katy’s Dakota Wentworth in the second round, 6-1, 6-3, and Boerne’s Sara Thompson in the quarterfinals, 2-6, 6-2, 1-0.
In the semifinals, though, Raji was upset by Mission’s No. 4-seeded Andrea De Leon, 6-2, 7-5.
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