WAIMEA — The whole picture is still far from clear for the BIIF tennis season, but Hawaii Preparatory Academy and Kealakehe can find some solace in starting out on the right foot.
WAIMEA — The whole picture is still far from clear for the BIIF tennis season, but Hawaii Preparatory Academy and Kealakehe can find some solace in starting out on the right foot.
Ka Makani won its boys and girls matches against Waiakea 4-1 and 3-2, respectively, while the Waveriders cleaned up against Kamehameha-Hawaii, knocking off the Warriors 4-0 in the boys matches and 3-2 in girls play over the weekend.
Hawaii Prep is the three-time defending boys champion, and didn’t seem to miss a beat against the Warriors despite having to replace some key senior departures.
Jakub Petras, an exchange student from Slovakia, played out of the No. 1 singles slot against Waiakea’s Conner Yoshimoto. Petras didn’t drop a game, winning 6-0, 6-0.
Ka Makani’s No. 2 singles player, Hayden Virtue, had a similar showing, downing Aaren Leung 6-0, 6-0.
Waiakea’s Lucas Chun Noah Matsuura tallied the lone win for the Warrior boys, beating the Hawaii Prep pair of Rex Lin and Michael Lee 6-2, 6-0 in doubles play. Ka Makani’s No. 3 doubles pair of Ethan James and Jody Jammin beat Nicholas Ohara and Nathan Owings (6-1, 6-1) while Jeff Marks and Oscar Winsa-Henderson pulled out a tight match against Waiakea’s Brennan Yamamoto and Colton Zane 5-7, 7-6 (9), 10-6.
There was no shortage of early-season drama on the girls side, with three of the five matches needing a third set. In singles play, Waiakea’s Kimberly Kamei edged Hawaii Prep’s Jordan Virtue (6-0, 7-6 (5), 14-12). Kayla Hollister tallied a win for Ka Makani over Samantha Zee (6-2, 4-6, 11-9). Waiakea’s No. 1 doubles team of Caitlin Tsuchiya and Kristin Enos won a doubles marathon-match against Sally Wu and Megan Abe 7-5, 6-3, 10-7. Ka Makani doubles duos of Sora Hataji/Sora Frysinger and Carol Zhen/Rain Du recorded straight set victories.
Second year Hawaii Prep head coach Jeff Lewis was pleased after the opening day victories, and while he sees a high ceiling for his squad down the road, he is tempering early season expectations a bit.
“We lost a lot of seniors but have some new kids coming in who have a passion for the sport,” Lewis said. “I’m really excited about that new group and I think the future is bright.”
Waiakea played with limited depth against Hawaii Prep, with some of its squad away at a Key Club event. But despite the results, head coach Bill Brilhante was satisfied with the outcome.
“We went with some younger players who were eager to get out there and play. They performed well in some really close matches,” Brilhante said. “HPA is solid, top to bottom.”
Brilhante — who has a pretty good feel for the landscape of the BIIF — is looking for steady improvement through the year from his Warriors, locking up a spot in the six-team playoffs and hopefully making some noise from there.
“We have a young team with developing skill sets. I don’t think the match against HPA is indicative of where we will be at the end of the season,” Brilhante said. “It was just a stepping stone, and along the way I think we will be able to surprise some people.”
Hawaii Prep continues its season today against Makua Lani. Waiakea hosts Keaau.
Results
Saturday
Boys
Hawaii Prep 4, Waiakea 1
Singles
Jakub Petras (HPA) def. Conner Yoshimoto (Waiakea) 6-0, 6-0
Hayden Virtue (HPA) def. Aaren Leung (Waiakea) 6-0, 6-0
Doubles
Jeff Marks/Oscar Winsa-Henderson (HPA) def. Brennan Yamamoto/Colton Zane 5-7, 7-6(9) 10-6
Noah Matsuura/Lucas Chun (Waiakea) def. Rex Lin/Michael Lee (HPA) 6-2, 6-0
EthanJames/Jody Jammin (HPA) def. Nicholas Ohara/Nathan Owings 6-1, 6-1
Kealakehe 4, Kamehameha 0
Ziggy Bartholomy (Kealakehe) def. Trenton Kuamoo (Kamehameha) 6-0, 6-1
Chase Matsumoto (Kealakehe), default
Doubles
Cameron Ventura/Brett Guccione (Kealakehe), default
Justyn Toyama/Richard Baek (Kealakehe), default
Girls
Hawaii Prep 3, Waiakea 2
Singles
Kimberly Kamei (Waiakea) def. Jordan Virtue (HPA) 0-6, 7-6(5), 14-12
Kayla Hollister (HPA) def. Samantha Zee (Waiakea) 6-2 4-6 11-9
Doubles
Caitlin Tsuchiya/Kristin Enos (Waiakea) def. Sally Wu/Megan Abe (HPA) 5-7, 6-3, 10-7
Sora Hataji/Sora Frysinger (HPA) def. Denise Daniels/Megan Tasaki (Waiakea) 6-3, 6-2
Carol Zhen/Rain Du (HPA) def. Aulii Maeda/Meghan Nagai (Waiakea) 6-0, 6-0
Kealakehe 3, Kamehameha 2
Singles
Bryanna Makaiwi (Kealakehe) def. Michaela Pajimola (Kamehameha) 6-1 6-1
Jazmin Pahio (default)
Doubles
Fiona Miranda/Tegan Travelino (Kealakehe) def. Rachel Tanaka/Chalet Tauali (Kamehameha) 6-0, 6-0
April Wong/Michele Uyeda (Kealakehe) def. Calista-Rae Campbell/Marie Gibson (Kamehameha) 6-0, 6-0
Ellie Kirsch/Kealaula Nahuina (Kamehameha) def. Myah Kari/Allison Ackerman (Kealakehe) 3-6, 7-6(8) 10-7