KEALAKEKUA — The Konawaena boys tennis team outlasted Hilo, and the rain Wednesday afternoon on the way to a 3-1 victory to advance to the semifinals of the BIIF team playoffs.
KEALAKEKUA — The Konawaena boys tennis team outlasted Hilo, and the rain Wednesday afternoon on the way to a 3-1 victory to advance to the semifinals of the BIIF team playoffs.
“It was a good match on both ends, and the Hilo singles players and doubles players were both tough,” Konawaena coach Richard Kahalioumi said. “Our boys put in the work and picked up a good win.”
The Wildcats jumped out to a 2-0 advantage over the Vikings with wins in the No. 2 singles match and No. 1 doubles match. Pancho Shelton cruised to a 6-0, 6-0 win over Hilo’s Kenji Emerson. The Konawaena duo of Brant Yamamoto and Tresen Arakaki did nearly the same to the team of Zach Kamiyama and Noah Hong with a 6-0, 6-1 victory.
“Pancho played well and did not let a point go by. He stayed aggressive and was able to finish the match quickly,” Kahalioumi said. “Tresen and Brant worked hard in their match, stayed on point, and did not let any mistakes bother them.”
Yamamoto was able to play through the match despite battling an illness.
Hilo cut into the deficit when No. 1 singles player Gil Assi defeated Konawaena’s Anakele Apisaloma 6-2, 6-2. However, the Wildcats clinched the match shortly before the rain came when the No. 2 singles team of Kory Urada and Ryan Ogi defeated Li Aki and Andrew Caxe 6-3, 6-4.
“That was a pretty close match and Li Aki is a pretty good tennis player on the Hilo side,” Kahalioumi said. “My boys were able to isolate him and focus more on his partner, and they took over the net play.”
The third doubles match between the Wildcats’ Jayse Takimoto and Derek Ogi, and Hilo’s Stein Lim and Brad Nakamara was deadlocked at one set apiece and was just entering the third set tiebreaker when a downpour began.
With the Konawaena victory already in hand, and a long drive to the east side in the near future for the visiting team, both coaches elected not to finish the No. 3 seeded match. Konawaena took the first set 6-4 before dropping the second set 4-6.
The match ended the team portion of the season for a very young Hilo team.
“We have competed against some of the top teams in the west, we have lost to all of the top teams in the west, but we have a very bright future,” Hilo coach Jared Yamanaka said. “We have four young freshman in the top eight right now with Gil being the top one. He is a pretty amazing kid.”
Aki is also a freshman, along with Kamiyama and Nakamara.
“The kids know how to play and helped out a team of juniors and seniors that were shorthanded last season,” Yamanaka said. “I am really proud of my kids. They play hard, they fight, and I am really happy with what they are doing.”
The other boys playoff matchup between Kohala and Waiakea was postponed by rain and will be played at 2 p.m. Thursday.
Kealakehe beats Makua Lani
Kealakehe decided to mix it up in the first round of the BIIF team playoffs against Makua Lani, and the adjustments paid off.
Using a shuffled lineup, the Waveriders defeated Makua Lani 4-0 on Wednesday to advance to the semifinals of the BIIF team championships on Saturday.
“We mixed it up a bit and it worked out well for us,” Kealakehe head coach Jerome Kanuha said. “We really are happy to make it to Saturday. That was our goal — to get there and play against the best teams on the island.”
The Waveriders combined top singles player Michelle Uyeda with Hope Kudo to make up the No. 1 doubles team, downing the Lion’s duo of Amanda Jensen and Lenae Nygaard 6-1, 6-0.
Kealakehe split up its normal No. 1 doubles team of Fiona Miranda and Tegan Travalino to fill the singles slots. In the No. 1 singles game, Miranda defeated Makua Lani’s Brianne Lavro 6-2, 6-3. Travalino won against the Lion’s No. 2 singles player Sophia Whalen 6-0, 6-4.
In the No. 2 doubles match, Kealakehe teammates Emily Kim and Hopoe Martins pulled out a win against Makua Lani’s Katie McCormick and Rhadasha Mack 7-6 (2), 6-3.
The No. 3 doubles match between Allison Ackerman and Hayley Barte (Kealakehe) and Amelia Grey/Elisabeth St. Clair (Makua Lani) was rained out and will not be replayed.
Kanuha said while his team lacks depth with just eight players, there is no question about their heart.
“I think they all stepped up to the plate,” Kanuha said. “We have what we have. We don’t have superstars but we have a group that wants to go out and give it all they got every time.”
The other girls playoff matchup scheduled for Wednesday between Kohala and Waiakea postponed by rain untiol Thursday, so the Waveriders will wait to see if they face top-seeded Konawaena or No. 2 seed Hawaii Prep in the semifinals.
“We are going to have to play some really good players in the next round,” Kanuha said, citing the depth and talent of both the Wildcats and Ka Makani. “It may take a miracle to beat them, but we will see what happens.”