During all those cloudless days that became a fixture in East Hawaii earlier this year, Waiakea High tennis coach Bill Brilhante didn’t need sunglasses to see the horizon.
It was a matter of when, not if, the ill-timed rain arrived to wash away play.
“Every year it’s that way,” he said. “You have the most beautiful weather all the way up until the first match of the season, and all of a sudden it just changes.”
The undefeated Warriors match Friday against Hilo High was a no, while Monday against Keaau was a go. Saturday’s would-be home match against Hawaii Prep was a yes, then a maybe, and ultimately Waiakea got resourceful to make it happen.
HPA already had been given the 7:15 a.m. go-ahead and was en route to Hilo when the skies opened up. The Warriors told the HPA to turn their bus around, and Plan B called for the tennis team to head to Waimea on one of the buses Waiakea’s track and field and softball teams were going to use to get to HPA for their BIIF competitions.
“The bus never came,” Brilhante said.
Enter Plan C.
“The only thing we could do is see which parents were around,” he said. “Fortunately, we had three parents with vans or minivans, so the two coaches and three parents took the team (18 players) up to Waimea.”
The caravaning Warriors were immune to the elements inside HPA’s Rutgers Tennis Center, even if the weather outside hadn’t improved that much.
“We could hear the wind howling outside,” Brilhante said. “I felt sorry for track and field and softball.”
In a battle of the BIIF’s only unbeatens, Waiakea’s boys and girls each won 5-0, and none of the Warriors’ four singles players – Nos. 1s Paul Brilhante and Jade Brilhante and Nos. 2s Iori Furuhata and Jada Igawa – dropped a game. In Nos. 2 doubles, Michael Nakano and Rhys Wilson, and Lisa Miyazaki and Haley Teramoto each won in three sets.
“(HPA) stacked their doubles teams, so singles weren’t really competitive,” Brilhante said. “We were fortunate to come out on top in some challenging doubles matches.
“That was the most competitive match we played this season. It was good, it prepared us well for Hilo.”
The Warriors hope to play the Vikings on Tuesday, but that’s weather dependent, of course.
On an overcast Monday, Waiakea girls beat the Cougars 5-0 and the boys won 4-1. Each side carries a 7-0 record on the season, and the girls mark is made more impressive by the fact they are an combined 35-0 in singles and doubles matches. Tandems Kiora Kunimoto and Chloe Takahashi, and Kate Newell and Jessie Higa also are undefeated, as are Paul Brilhante, Furuhata and three boys doubles teams: Wilson/Nakano, Maika Nucci and Bruin Yomono, and Dayne Kunimoto and Reyn Funai.
Waiakea swept the team titles in 2019, but Brilhante’s not taking anything for granted. He expects teams to throw him a few curveballs at the team championships.
“The way you set up the lineups, it’s tricky, you never can tell what the other team is going to do,” Brilhante said. “They could put their best players down in the lineup.
“If everybody went straight up, I think we have by far the deepest team. But tennis comes down to matchups,and you never know.”
Saturday
Boys
Waiakea 5, Hawaii Prep 0
Singles
Paul Brilhante def. Chaz Fitzgerald, 6-0, 6-0
Iori Furuhata def. Zachery Lieberman, 6-0, 6-0
Doubles
Bruin Yomono/Maika Nucci def. Zeke Sarosi/Edoardo Greco, 6-0, 6-3
Michael Nakano/Rhys Wilson def. Neil Steinvorth/Parker Smith, 6-0, 6-7(5), 10-5
Reyn Funai/Dayne Kunimoto def. Shuntaro Hori/Rin Motoki, 6-4. 6-1
Kealakehe 3, Hilo 2
Singles
Hunter Felte, Kealakehe, def. Kai Chun, Hilo, 6-0, 6-0
Keoni Roth, Kealakehe, def. Aiden Carvalho-Fukunaga, Hilo, 6-2, 6-1
Doubles
Jake Tokuuke/Jonathan Okamura, Hilo, def. Eunjun (Roy) Shin/Raphael Gadot, Kealakehe, 6-3, 6-1
Hamilton Jackson/Patrick Overholt, Kealakehe, def. Jarick Alba-Kuwahara/Eli Yamaki, Hilo, 6-2, 6-3
Kensuke Panek/Brendan Inaba, Hilo, win by default
Parker 5, Makua Lani 0
Singles
Lucas Koranda def. Cody Baker, 7-5, 6-3
Everett Gordon def. Calvin Brown, 6-2, 6-1
Doubles
Logan Kidani/Owen Leonard def. John David Gallagher/Cody Smith, 6-0, 6-0
Kyle Groves/JC Montenegro win by default
Matt Shemwell/Khoki Miyazaki win by default
Girls
Waiakea 5, HPA 0
Singles
Jade Brilhante def. Sydney Chin, 6-0, 6-0
Jada Igawa def. Taina Seward, 6-0, 6-0
Doubles
Kiora Kunimoto/Chloe Takahashi def. Emilia Tretau/Arabella Asuncion, 6-3, 6-2
Lisa Miyazaki/Haley Teramoto def. Arabella Asuncion/Tiana Edwards, 4-6, 6-3, 10-6
Kate Newell/Jessie Higa def. Tiffany Golden/Catherine Hulugalle, 6-2, 7-4
Hilo 5, Kealakehe 0
Singles
Kaylee Yamada def. Maile-Lei Ji, 3-6, 6-4, 10-5
Mahealani “Mahea” Gomes def. Kayleigh Tatum (Tate) Arias, 6-1, 7-6(4)
Doubles
Urumi Furuhata/Liliaonalani “Lilia” Icari def. Yukari (Mai) Eckert/Sabrina Lelm, 6-2, 6-0
Annika Lee/Marissa Dodo def. Sophia Weir/Jazlynn Nazaire, 7-6(6), 6-2
Karissa Lee/Paige Masulit def. Karissa Lee/Paige Masulit, 6-1, 6-2
Parker 3, Makua Lani 0
Singles
Kaya Long, Parker, def. Aliyah Richert, Makua Lani, 6-0, 6-0
Rebecca Tang, Parker, def. Siu Jeong, Makua Lani, 6-3, 7-5
Doubles
Maddie Weigle/Sophie Weigle, Parker, def. Milena Freire/Mikella Chang, 6-1, 6-2
Trinity Brown/Lizbeth Avendano, Makua Lani, def. Jennifer Koranda/Emily Atkins, 6-1, 6-2