The Big Island Interscholastic Federation tennis team championships have their own glory — a lifetime memory rather than an opportunity to chase state gold.
There are no berths on the line for the Hawaii High School Athletic Association state tournament. That’s reserved for the BIIF individual championships, which will be held April 17 to 19 at Holua.
The league’s top eight boys singles and doubles, and top seven girls singles and doubles earn spots to states, slated for May 1 to 3 on Maui.
Most people, even those outside of the tennis community, can name a few BIIF individual champs from last year: Waiakea’s Isaiah Brilhante (now at Cornell), boys singles; Hilo’s Emily Soares, girls singles; HPA’s Brendan Moynahan/Jake Frogley, boys doubles; and Konawaena’s Haley Ekstrom/Rayne Izumi-Baltero, girls doubles.
Brilhante and Soares are probably the most recognizable names because both made deep runs at states last year. They each reached the semifinals. Brilhante took third; Soares was fourth.
The best thing about the BIIF team championships is the legacy, and that rolls into other sports that host both individual and team postseason tournaments. There’s also a team championship trophy for schools to display in a glass case.
For tennis, Hawaii Preparatory Academy is the boys defending champion and the heavy favorite. Hilo’s girls won it last year.
“The team championship is the individuals wrapped up into one,” Kohala boys coach Hermann Fernandez said. “It’s about the team concept and I like that. In the individual championships, it’s all on you.
“In the team championships, if your team loses 5-0, you commiserate with your teammates. Sometimes, there’s more pressure if you’re in a deciding match and it’s tied 2-2. It creates a different type of pressure.”
Kealakehe beat HPA for the boys title in 2012 to repeat. Kealakehe defeated Konawaena for the girls title that year.
Last year, Konawaena’s boys took down Hilo in the BIIF semifinals, then fell to HPA.
A better memory for Wildcats coach Richard Kahalioumi, who runs Holua’s junior development programs, is Konawaena’s last boys BIIF team title.
“That was in 2000, when I was a senior,” he said. “The BIIF team championships are all about team pride. It gives them a sense of team accomplishment.”
Teamwork is most emphasized in doubles, where the two players depend on each other. Konawaena’s No. 2 doubles is comprised of cousins Coran Yamamoto, a senior, and Grant Yamamoto, a sophomore.
The No. 1 doubles team is senior Fin Gallagher and sophomore Anakele Apisalana, and the No. 3 team is senior Stefan Kimura and sophomore Tresen Arakaki.
Freshman Pancho Shelton is the No. 1 singles, and sophomore Derek Ogi is the No. 2 singles.
“We’re pretty strong with our doubles teams,” Kahalioumi said. “Out of our 11 boys, maybe four (Gallagher, Apisalana, Arakaki and Grant Yamamoto) play tennis year-round.
“In the beginning, Pancho being a newbie was reserved and kept to himself. Our whole philosophy is being family oriented. It’s more a family than a team. He got more comfortable on the tennis court. He doesn’t have the biggest stroke, but he’ll get the ball back 9 out of 10 times every time. That makes him hard to deal with.
“I like Derek’s passion. He doesn’t stop trying. As a freshman, he’d come and work hard. His work ethic is really strong.”
Gallagher and Apisalana have big serves and sound net games, and they’ve been together the longest, playing under Kahalioumi at Holua — the closest thing to a homecourt advantage.
Kahalioumi describes the Yamamoto cousins and his No. 3 doubles as “hammer and wedge” duos, the backcourt player hitting hard and the frontcourt guy cleaning up mistakes at the net.
“Coran is the hammer, but he’s calm and pretty mellow,” Kahalioumi said. “Grant gets started up pretty quickly. Coran helps smooth the mood. Stefan and Tresen know each other pretty well. They grew up together in junior bowling.
“Tresen’s net game is pretty good and Stefan’s is excellent. Their personalities latch on to each other, it carries them and they push through.”
The Wildcats aren’t looking ahead, but they know they’re underdogs like everyone else. Hilo will visit Kamehameha at 2:30 p.m. today for the East No. 2 seed. Consider HPA the tennis version of a combined Connecticut and Kentucky, a deep and talented NCAA basketball powerhouse.
“The team championship, honestly, won’t be an easy road,” Kahalioumi said. “But it’s definitely conquerable. The kids have to come out and work and want to come out with a victory.
“They’re very tight-knit. When one gets down, the upperclassmen pick them up. They lean on the bond that they have.”