The goal this season for the Hilo High doubles team of sisters Emily and Kelly Soares was the Hawaii High School Athletic Association tournament. The Big Island Interscholastic Federation champions upended Mililani’s Haley Fujimori and Alysse Nakasato in the quarterfinals Friday at Wailea Tennis Club on Maui, but were eliminated by Mid-Pacific Institute’s Skyla Alcon and Cori Cummings in the semifinals.
The goal this season for the Hilo High doubles team of sisters Emily and Kelly Soares was the Hawaii High School Athletic Association tournament. The Big Island Interscholastic Federation champions upended Mililani’s Haley Fujimori and Alysse Nakasato in the quarterfinals Friday at Wailea Tennis Club on Maui, but were eliminated by Mid-Pacific Institute’s Skyla Alcon and Cori Cummings in the semifinals.
The Soares siblings were the last BIIF contenders in the state tournament. Today, the pair will play for third place against Sarah Ikioka and Kylee Kato of Kamehameha-Maui.
HPA’s J.J. Minakata — who had his way against BIIF singles opponents this year — entered the tournament as the No. 5 seed.
After battling through McKinley’s Justin Eusebio in the opening round, Minakata faced fellow BIIF competitor in Kealakehe’s Hiro Sogi in the Round of 16. Minakata easily downed Sogi 6-2, 6-1 on Thursday, setting up a date with the No. 1 seed, Punahou junior Kawika Lam.
Lam, the defending state champion, beat Minakata in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2.
In the girls bracket, Kealakehe freshman Michelle Uyeda fell to Taylor Lau of St. Francis in the quarterfinals, 6-0, 6-0.
The Konawaena boys doubles team of Anakele Apisaloma and Finn Gallagher gained momentum as the season wore on, but the duo’s run ended Friday in the quarterfinals, losing to the No. 1-seeded team of Zander Kim and Jon Coastales of Punahou, 6-2, 6-2.
SINGLES
Boys
Quarterfinals
(1) Kawika Lam (Punahou) def. (5) J.J. Minakata (HPA) 6-2, 6-2
(6) McKenna Fujitani (Punahou) def. (4) Daisuke Nakayama (Iolani) 6-4, 4-6, (5)
(3) Sage Leaman (Mililani) def. (3) Joey Baldwin (Maui) 6-2, 6-2
(2) Jeffrey Liang (Hawaii Baptist) def. (8) Shayan Shirkhodai (Seabury) 6-0, 6-0
Semifinals
(1) Kawika Lam (Punahou) def. (6) McKenna Fujitani (Punahou) 6-0, 6-2
(2) Jeffrey Liang (Hawaii Baptist) def. (3) Sage Leaman (Mililani) 6-1, 6-2
Girls
Quarterfinals
(1) Alyssa Tobita (Mililani) def. (6) Serena Le (Punahou) 6-0, 6-0
(3) Lani-Rae Green (Waimea) def. (8) Hina Goldsmith (Roosevelt) 6-1, 6-1
(4) Taylor Lau (St. Francis) def. (5) Michelle Uyeda (Kealakehe) 6-0, 6-0
(2) Ashley Ishimura (Punahou) def. (7) Jade Min (Island Pacific Academy) 6-1, 6-1
Semifinals
(1) Alyssa Tobita (Mililani) def. (3) Lani-Rae Green (Waimea) 7-5, 6-1
(4) Taylor Lau (St. Francis) def. (2) Ashley Ishimura (Punahou) 3-6, 6-2, (2)
DOUBLES
Boys
Quarterfinals
(1) Zander Kim/Jon Costales (Punahou) def. (6) Anakele Apisaloma/Finn Gallagher (Konawaena) 6-2, 6-2
(3) Jacob Blaisdell/Austin Hamamoto (Punahou) def. (8) Calvin Lee/Soohan Bong (Kalani) 6-4, 6-4
(7) Seann Esaki/Braxton Chong (Mid-Pacific) def. (4) Jace Akagi-Okuma/Davin Lee (Mililani) 6-2, 6-3
(5) Ryan Chang/Riley Inn (Iolani) def. (2) Travis Lau/Dylan Shen (Punahou) 6-3, 2-6, (7)
Semifinals
(1) Zander Kim/Jon Costales (Punahou) def. (3) Jacob Blaisdell/Austin Hamamoto (Punahou) 7-5, 6-3
(7) Seann Esaki/Braxton Chong (Mid-Pacific) def. (5) Ryan Chang/Riley Inn (Iolani) 6-2, 7-5
Girls
Quarterfinals
(1) Sari Kwee/Kara Okazaki (Iolani) def. Katie Natori/Becky Yim (Punahou) 6-0, 6-4
(3) Sarah Ikioka/Kylee Kato (Kamehameha Schools Maui) def. (5) Brooke Alcuran/Laura Okazaki (Iolani) 7-5, 6-4
(4) Kelly Soares/Emily Soares (Hilo) def. (7) Haley Fujimori/Alysse Nakasato (Mililani) 6-1, 7-5
(2) Skyla Alcon/Cori Cummings (Mid-Pacific) def. Hailey Motooka/Rachel Rosenfeld (Punahou) 6-0, 6-0
Semifinals
(1) Sari Kwee/Kara Okazaki (Iolani) def. (3) Sarah Ikioka/Kylee Kato (Kamehameha Schools Maui) 6-3, 6-4
(2) Skyla Alcon/Cori Cummings (Mid-Pacific) def. (4) Kelly Soares/Emily Soares (Hilo) 6-2, 6-0