As the BIIF boys tennis season gets into full swing, several teams have their rackets aimed at a league championship in 2015.
Leading the way is last year’s champion, Hawaii Preparatory Academy. Ka Makani laid waste to the BIIF field last season — picking up a 4-1 win over Waiakea in the league championship match — and were led by the BIIF’s best male performer, JJ Minakata.
Minakata, a lefty, dominated his opponents all the way up to the quarter final round of the HHSAA state tournament. In the BIIF team championship match, he rolled through Waiakea’s Ty Yamamoto in straight sets without dropping a point. Minakata won the individual BIIF title by beating Waiakea’s Samuel Masuura. The win produced the first Ka Makani individual champion since 2003.
At state, Minakata defeated McKinley’s Justin Eusebio, 6-4, 6-1. In the round of 16, he defeated Kealakehe’s Hiro Sogi, 6-2 and 6-1, before dropping his quarterfinal match to Punahou’s Kawika Lam.
“He hits the ball hard from both sides,” said opposing Kohala coach Hermann Fernandez. “He has a good looking serve and tremendous racket speed.”
Minakata gives HPA a solid foundation in 2015, but in the team competition, Ka Makani will need at least three wins to take the championship match. That might not be a problem, as HPA returns nearly all its starters to back up their star attraction.
Oscar Winsa Henderson returns as the No. 2 singles player. Henderson had a strong performance in the BIIF tournament and advanced to the first round at the state tournament. He showed versatility by also playing doubles when called upon, most notably in the BIIF team championship, where he joined with Wayne Tan to defeat Waiakea’s Tevyn Gomez and Brandon Hamamoto, 6-3, 0-6, 1-0 (7).
Also back is one half of the boys BIIF runner-up team. Alec Jones returns to HPA, but he will have to find a new partner after the departure of Brendan Moynahan. Jones teamed up with returner Bryce Zeffert in the first match of the season against Waiakea in a rematch of last year’s championship. Jones and Zeffert dominated their match, winning in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0.
Filling out the starting roster at No. 2 doubles is Tan and Jake Frogley. Chris Rowe and Jeff Marks will be playing in the No. 3 doubles slot.
While HPA has a deep and talented roster, the school isn’t the only one contending for a league title this year. Also in the running are west side foes Kealakehe and Konawaena.
Konawaena finished third last season, beating Kamehameha 4-1 in the consolation finals. The Wildcats also return a lot of starters in 2015.
These returners are led by one half of last year’s doubles league championship duo Anakele Apisaloma. With the departure of playing partner Finn Gallagher, Apisaloma moved to singles competition this year, but could bounce back and forth as the season progresses according to coach Richard Kahalioumi.
“He is doing okay, but we will see as the road gets longer,” Kahalioumi said. “He won his first two matches 6-0 and 6-0.”
Returning to singles competition is Pancho Shelton. Shelton has played in the No. 1 slot so far this season. He won his first match of the year 6-0, 6-0 and won his second match,6-1, 6-1.
“He is a wall,” Kahalioumi said. “No matter where you hit it, he tracks it down.”
The Wildcats also get back Brant Yamamoto. He advanced all the way to state last year with his doubles partner before losing to an HPA team. He will be paired with newcomer Tresen Arakaki to fill the No. 1 doubles slot this year.
“They have lots of potential but have not been playing together for too long,” Kahalioumi said. “They have good hand-eye coordination at the net and a solid serve.”
Filling out the No. 2 doubles slot are returning starter Kory Urada and freshman Ryan Ogi.
“This is another team that has come a long way,” Kahalioumi said. “Kory did not start playing tennis until his freshman year. He was mainly a football player, but he has developed his strokes and come a long way. Together they communicate well, they just have that doubles essence. They move as a team.”
Derek Ogi returns to fill in the No. 3 doubles slot with freshman Jace Takimoto. The duo has not yet had an opportunity to show what they can do. They won their first two matches by default.
“Jace is a beginner but has come a long way in three weeks,” Kahalioumi said. “He is learning the game and it is going to be a long road to get there.”
Kahalioumi joked that his expectation for the team this year is to “survive the season.”
“I just want the kids to go out there and have fun, do their best, and come out with a positive attitude” he added. “Wins show how hard you have worked. Losses are a meter to see where you are strong and where you are weak.”
Kealakehe returns two players who advanced to the state tournament last season in Keanu Travalino and Hiro Sogi. Travalino is the team’s No. 1 singles player this season. He lost to Kapolei’s Adam Huriuchi in the first round of the state tournament last season. Travalino, a senior, has been the No. 1 singles player since his sophomore year.
“We know we can expect him to win,” said Sogi, the team’s captain. “He is a pretty solid player.”
Sogi, playing in the second singles slot last year, reached the second round of the state tournament before being eliminated by BIIF rival Minakata. He has moved over to the No. 1 doubles slot this season, teaming up with one of his good friends, Cory Yamagata.
“I actually preferred singles, but over the summer I practiced a lot and learned how to volley, and now I can play better doubles than singles,” Sogi said. “We are a pretty good team and our strengths are our volleys. We have pretty good net play and we serve well.”
With Sogi moving to doubles, freshman Brett Guccione steps into the No. 2 singles slot. He and Sogi played a couple of times over the summer and Sogi humbly admitted that he lost both matches.
“I know he is going to do good,” Sogi said. “he can play smart and if he learns a few more tricks, he could be a beast.”
Cameron Centrua and Kaeden Abellera will fill in at the No. 2 doubles slot and Daniel Kim and Zachary Macias will play in the No. 3 doubles slot.
“Cameron has really improved over the summer and so has Kaeden,” Hiro said. “Daniel and Zach are both beginners.”
The race for the BIIF championship looks like a tight race and any team could jump up into the running with the right mix of talent and timing. Only time will tell who will stand atop the pedestal.