The 2015 girls tennis season opened play Feb. 21 and defending BIIF champion Kealakehe looked good in a straight match victory over Kamehameha. The Waveriders are trying to repeat this year and the squad brings back a lot of starters from last year’s squad.
Kealakehe’s road to the playoffs will be much tougher this season as the BIIF puts the East-West six-game schedule on the back burner and returns to a 12-game, full-schedule format, with the top six schools qualifying for the league tournament.
With that in mind, team captain April Wong says that Kealakehe still expects to win the BIIF championship this year.
“We want to win most of our matches and hopefully do better in the state tournament,” Wong added.
The Waveriders will enter the new format with several returning starters that helped lead the team to a dominating 4-1 victory over Konawaena in last year’s title match. Kealakehe is led by its No. 1 singles standout, Michelle Uyeda.
In her freshman season, Uyeda made a quick impression as she claimed the BIIF individual title without losing a single set. She also won her first two matches at state in straight sets before falling in the quarterfinals.
“Michelle is very consistent and can move really well on the court,” Wong said. “She is a really smart player.”
Wong is returning to the Waveriders, along with Fiona Miranda. However, the pair will have reverse roles from last year. In 2014, Wong, then a junior, played with senior partner Mai Kobayashi. The duo finished second in the BIIF tournament. With Kobayashi gone, Wong will now move to singles action and take over the No. 2 slot previously held by Miranda.
“Last year I thought I could win BIIF’s (in doubles) but this year I just wanted to try something different,” Wong said.
She summed up her game by saying, “I like to hit from the baseline and hit angle shots.”
Miranda will move to doubles where she will make up the No. 1 team with Teagan Travalino.
“They are a pretty solid team,” Wong said.
Rounding out the starting squad this year are No. 2 doubles duo Hope Kudo and Haley Barte, and No. 3 duo Emily Kim and Allison Ackerman. Both Barte and Kim are returning starters.
Kealakehe will be without one of their standouts from last year, Sara Tsukamoto. It is a big blow for the Waveriders. Tsukamoto is currently listed sixth on the USTA G16 Hawaii Pacific standings. Uyeda is listed seventh, Wong is 15th and Travalino is 32nd.
Despite the loss of a top talent, Kealakehe is projected to compete for a title, but as the season picks up momentum, so will the Waveriders’ competition. Several teams are currently looking to dethrone the champs, most notably Hilo, Hawaii Preparatory Academy and Konawaena.
Hilo currently had two girls listed in the USTA G16 Hawaii Pacific standings. Leading the Vikings is the highest ranked player on the list at No. 3, Emily Soares. Soares won the BIIF championship two years ago as a freshman but elected to play doubles last year with her sister, Kelly. The pair won the league team title and then went all the way to the semifinal round of the HHSAA state tournament, where they lost a close three set match to Kamahameha-Maui’s Sarah Ikioka and Kylee Kato, 7-6 (4), 3-6 and 4-6. No other team or individual from the BIIF reached the semifinal round of state.
With her sister now graduated, Emily will return to the No. 1 singles slot and gives Uyeda the competition she did not have in league play last year.
Hilo returns its entire starting lineup, including No. 2 singles player Isabel Fukushima, No. 1 doubles duo Lauree Anne De Mattos and Callie Oyama, No. 2 doubles duo Alisa Leung and Lacey Shiligi, and and No. 3 doubles duo Danielle Brown and Mayuko Yoshida.
Konawaena will also offer a challenge to Kealakehe this year thanks to many returning starters who qualified for the BIIF tournament. Returning are singles competitors Kaylee Jose and Jomairah Macabinguil, as we as the doubles teams of Sarah Wagner and Malia Command, and Kira Ekstrom and Nikki Kunitomo.
New to the team this year is freshman Tayvia Yamagata, who is listed 21st in the USTA G16 Hawaii Pacific standings.
HPA will also content for the title. Leading the returners is singles standout Mackenzie Langmade, who received a No. 3 seed for the BIIF tournament last season. Mai Reinvald also had a seeded spot for the BIIF tourney and returns. The team of Catharine Gussmann and Teia Knoll will also be back.