Tribune-Herald
Tribune-Herald
A hot start and favorable conditions put Ciera Min on course to reach her goal Tuesday on Kauai.
The Waiakea junior got a bit unlucky on the greens and settled for an even-par 73 and was two strokes off the lead after the first round of the Hawaii High School Athletic Association girls golf championships.
“The round was pretty good, but I wanted to shoot under par,” she said. “The conditions were good. I’m surprised the scores weren’t lower.”
Min rattled off three birdies and a par over her first four holes before taking a step back at Wailua Golf Course. The Big Island Interscholastic Federation champion capped her round with her fourth birdie and was in a three-way tie for third. She played the course’s five par-5 holes at 3-under.
“Some of my putts lipped out, so there wasn’t much I could do about that,” Min said. “The putting conditions favored Waiakea because the greens were a little softer than some of the other girls are used to.”
On a sunny day with light wind, Iolani freshman Rose Huang carded a 2-under 71 and led Baldwin’s Marissa Uradomo by a stroke heading into this morning’s final round.
Kalaheo’s Monique Ishikawa and Kauai High’s Taylor Viquelia were also at 73.
Min said she was confident she could go under par today, and the Warriors likely will need that sort of round if they are to have a chance to catch Iolani for the team championship. The Red Raiders (221) led Baldwin by six strokes, and Waiakea and Punahou were another shot behind.
Also for Waiakea, senior Nani Yanagi shot a 76, while sophomore Andi Igawa and senior Megan Kimura were at 79 and 83, respectively.
In contrast to Min, Yanagi faltered in the early going before picking up steam. She birdied the sixth hole to get back to 2-over, then a birdie on No. 18 gave her an even back nine.
“It got to the point where I just kind of stopped keeping score,” Yanagi said. “On the back nine, I started looking over at my dad and he was making faces at me. I started to relax and was talking to my playing partners.”
Yanagi was the BIIF’s top finisher at states in 2011, and she pointed out that the Warriors made up a seven-stroke deficit last season during the final round against Baldwin to finish runner-up behind Punahou.
“Anything is possible,” she said. “We’ve got a great group of girls and we’ll go for it.”
While Waiakea featured a playing contingent of four on Kauai, all five of Iolani’s competitors were among the top 15, including Marissa Chow (75), who tied for second last season.
First round held Tuesday at Wailua Golf Course, Kauai. Second and final round starts today at 7 a.m.
Par 73
Rose Huang, Iolani 34-37—71
Marissa Uradomo, Baldwin 36-36—72
Monique Ishikawa, Kalaheo 36-37—73
Ciera Min, Waiakea 37-36—73
Taylor Viquelia, Kauai 35-38—73
Eimi Koga, Moanalua 37-37—74
Kacie Komoto, Punahou 35-39—74
Bianca Armanini, Baldwin 38-37—75
Marissa Chow, Iolani 40-35—75
Hana Furuichi, Iolani 36-39—75
Naea Oda, Kapaa 38-37—75
Keilyn Ing, Iolani 37-39—76
Ayumi Sakamoto, Iolani 37-39—76
Nani Yanagi, Waiakea 39-37—76
Kaylee Shimizu, Baldwin 38-39—77
Sarah Hasselman, Punahou 37-40—77
Kelli-Anne Katsuda, Mid-Pac 35-42—77
Maggie Min, Punahou 39-38—77
Daesza Tomas, Kauai 38-39—77
Cassandra Lesa, Univeristy 41-37—78
Andi Igawa, Waiakea 37-42—79
Sol Koo Han, St. Francis 39-40—79
Shannon Abarra, KS-Maui 39-41—80
Lisa Kang, Mid-Pac 40-40—80
Kimberlie Miyamoto, Bald. 41-39—80
Jade Salvador, HBA 41-39—80
Kalea Heu, Baldwin 42-39—81
Kristin Le, Punahou 43-38—81
Rayna Nakao, Punahou 39-42—81
Mami Yamamoto, Kapolei 41-40—81
Iris Kawada, Castle 41-41—82
Sydney Maluenda, Kapolei 41-41—82
Megan Kimura, Waiakea 44-39—83
Samantha Balboa, Prl City 43-42—85
Lynsie Furuya, Leilehua 44-41—85
Kaia Takaki, Kalani 42-43—85
Nichele Wada, Maryknoll 42-43—85
Nicole Nagamine,KS-Maui 43-43—86
Amanda Loeffler, Hilo 45-42—87
Kristen Ishikawa, Baldwin 42-46—88
Elizabeth Shishido, Moa. 43-46—89
Anjela Kim, Sacred Hearts 47-43—90
Susie Kresge, Radford 48-42—90
Tiara Inoue, St. Joseph 51-41—92
Kiana Lumanlan, KS-Haw. 52-40—92
Ashley Yuen, Moanalua 43-49—92
Jennifer Horikawa, Baldwin 52-41—93
Taylor Akamine, Maui 47-46—93
Erin Kobayashi, Baldwin 47-47—94
Julia Kim, Kalani 49-45 —94
Jodi Saito, Mililani 46-48—94
Michiko Smith, Lahaina. 44-50—94
Jennifer Cho, Roosevelt 49-46—95
Taylor Kaaihili, KS-Haw. 53-42—95
Kanoi Cortez, Kapolei 47-51— 98
Leia Hasegawa, Kailua 50-48—98
Jessie Kresge, Radford 51-48—99
Cherie Inouye, Kalani 48-52—100
Kelsy Nishimura, Hilo 50-50—100
Shaina Hipolito, KS-Maui 53-49—102
Kristie Saneewong, Kap. 54-48—102
Jenae Park, Kauai 52-51—103
Amy Nakabayashi, Mil 54-50—104
Kodi Joyo, KS-Maui 52-53—105
Annie Sadamoto, Hilo 52-55—107
Kimberly Katayama, Aiea 58-51—109
Sabrina Barrier, Kauai 55-59—114
Team scores: Iolani, 221; Baldwin, 227; Punahou, 228; Waiakea, 228; Kauai, 253; Moanalua, 255; Kapolei, 261; Kamehameha- Maui, 268; Kalani, 279; Hilo 294 Submitted by BIIF golf coordinator Steve Perry