KOHALA COAST — Waiakea’s quest for a team title came to an end on the scorching Mauna Lani Sports & Fitness Club tennis courts Friday. But the Warriors’ goal to claim at least one individual title isn’t over just yet.
After two dominating some quick matches on the second day of the HHSAA state tournament, Maile Brilhante moved into the girls singles title match, which will be played today at 8:30 a.m. at Mauna Lani.
“She was striking the ball really well, she was consistent on her ground strokes and she was driving the ball deep into the corners,” said Waiakea head coach Bill Brilhante. “She also played two quick matches, which was important with the temperature in the high 80s and low trade winds. It was like a sauna out there.”
Maile Brilhante opened Day 2 of the tourney with a quarterfinals match against Pearl City’s Sarah Domingo. Brilhante, the No. 4 seed in the bracket, defeated the No. 8 seed in straight sets.
In the afternoon semifinal match, Maile Brilhante defeated Mid Pacific’s Annika Alcon 6-3, 6-0. Alcon, seeded seventh, upset top seeded Clarise Huang (Punahou) in the quarterfinals by tiebreaker 4-6, 6-2 (8).
“Maile played two really good matches today,” Bill Brilhante said. “And getting on and off the court that fast will be big, because the heat can really take a toll on the body.”
The heat did play a factor all day, and that included in the other semifinal match, which included Waiakea’s other singles player, No. 3 seed, Keilyn Kunimoto.
Kunimoto outlasted No. 6 seeded Melanie Uyeda (Kealakehe) in the quarterfinals, winning by tiebreaker 6-4, 5-7, (4). However, she ran out of steam late in her semifinal match with Kihei Charter School’s Jessalyn Lopez.
The No. 2 seeded Lopez jumped out to a 4-2 lead in the first set but Kunimoto fought back to take the set 6-4. After dropping the second set 5-7, the match went to a tiebreaker.
In the tiebreaker, Kunimoto pulled out to a 5-2 advantage, but Lopez went on to win 10-8.
“Keilyn just ran out of gas,” Bill Brilhante said. “It was her second long match of the day, it was 2 in the afternoon, and she tried to gut it out. Her brain was saying yes but her body was saying no.”
Maile Brilhante will play Lopez in the championship match today at 8:30 a.m.
“Jessalyn will make Maile hit a lot of balls,” Bill Brilhante said. “She has good foot speed and makes very few unforced errors. There will be no easy points.”
Waiakea falls just short of team gold
Waiakea’s shot at a team championship came to and end on Friday with a pair of Punahou girls doubles teams advancing to the championship match.
The No. 2 seeded duo of Alexis Matsunaga and Megan Flores (No. 2 seed) will play their teammates Jacqueline O’Neill and Cosette Wu (No. 3 seed) in the championship match today at 8:30 a.m.
With both Punahou teams advancing, the school is assured eight points just from that one match — five points for first place and three points for second — which will seal first place in the team standings.
Waiakea has a good shot at second place holding on to second place.
“Unfortunately, our two doubles teams played each other in the second round and both had a chance to go far in the tournament,” Bill Brilhante said. “It is what it is. That is the luck of the draw.”
In that second round match, the unseeded Waiakea team of Alicia Chun and Chloe Teramoto upset teammates and BIIF champions Maya Atwal and Jade Brilhante on Thursday 6-4, 6-3. Atwal and Jade Brilhante were the No. 6 seeded duo in the bracket.
In the quarterfinals on Friday, Chun and Teramoto played the No. 2 seeded Matsunaga and Flores, losing in a thrilling tiebreaker match 6-4, 6-7, (8).
“Alicia and Chloe were right there, the talent was right there,” Bill Brilhante said. “They still have one more year to get it done.”
Is this the year for Minakata?
Hawaii Preparatory Academy’s Ryo Minakata is cruising through the state field in the boys singles bracket. In four matches, Minakata has outscored his opponents 48-4.
On Friday, the tournament’s top seed and reigning BIIF champion defeated Roosevelt’s Carlo Argones 6-0, 6-1. He then defeated Punahou’s Leyton Ramos 6-2, 6-1 in the semifinals.
Minakata will play Kihei Charter School’s Hobbes Wilstead in the championship match today at 8:30 a.m. Wilstead defeated Pearl City’s Rylan Woo in the semifinals by tiebreaker 6-4, 0-6, (4).