The Konawaena tennis teams have beaten nearly every opponent they have come up against in 2015. The Lady Wildcats improved to a perfect 10-0 with a win over Hilo Saturday afternoon, while the boys moved to 9-1. Both squads defeated their Viking foes, 4-1.
The Konawaena girls have received a big boost from a lot of new players, with the biggest addition being freshman Tayvia Yamagata, who has shot right up the rankings to take over the No. 1 singles slot.
On Wednesday, Yamagata picked up a major upset win over last year’s BIIF champion from Kealakehe, sophomore Michelle Uyeda. She took on an even tougher opponent on Saturday in Hilo senior Emily Soares. Soares was BIIF champion two years ago elected to play doubles with her sister last season. This time around, experience and maturity proved to be a catalyst that the much younger Konawaena player could not overcome. Yamagata picked up her first loss of the year, falling 6-2, 6-0.
“Tayvia has a lot of court experience playing in state and national tournaments so she knows how to handle the pressure,” Konawaena girls coach Debi Yamamoto said. “She hits a solid hard ball from both sides, and has a hard, consistent serve. She can usually figure out her opponent’s weakness and take advantage of it.”
With a rare Yamagata’s loss, the rest of the Lady Wildcats picked up the slack, sweeping the other four matches. Playing in the No. 2 singles slot, Rashai Kailiwai defeated Hilo’s Isabel Fukushima without dropping a game. Kailiwai is a transfer student playing her first season at Konawaena.
“Rashai has a lot of experience but has not been playing consistently,” Yamamoto said. “But she is tall and because of her height she can hit shots that more experienced players cannot.”
The Konawaena doubles teams of Kira Ekstrom and Nikki Kunitomo, Malia Command and Haley Ekstrom and Kili Kunitomo and Sarah Wagner dropped only one game in total.
Kira Ekstrom and Nikki Kunitomo have played out of the No. 2 doubles slot the previous two seasons, and have qualified for state, but this year they have been bumped up to the No. 1 slot.
“They communicate well together,” Yamamoto said. “Nikki is like the wedge, always trying to hit everything back, and Kira is the hammer. They compliment each other.”
Kira Ekstrom’s twin sister, Haley, plays with Command in the No. 2 doubles slot. They bring experience to the team with Haley being a junior and Command a senior.
“Both like to play the net and Haley has a lot of experience playing with her sister,” Yamamoto said. “Malia works hard and though she is less experienced, she is older and I tell her it is her job to keep the team together and staying positive.”
Nikki Kunitomo’s cousin, Kili Kunitomo, fills the No. 3 doubles slot with Wagner.
“Kili is a soccer player and has played No. 3 doubles sporadically for the last four years,” Yamamoto said. “Sarah is the stronger all-around court player and Kili keeps the ball in play so Wagner can put it away.”
While the Konawaena girls remain undefeated a tough road lies ahead. In the next two matches the Lady Wildcats will take on Waiakea and Hawaii Preparatory Academy. The two teams are second and third in the standings respectively.
“I am really excited and am looking forward to the two matches,” Yamamoto said. “We can’t be any lower than third.”
The top six squads make it to the BIIF tournament.
WILDCAT BOYS
The Konawaena boys were riding a perfect 8-0 start before falling in a close match to Kealakehe on Wednesday. The Waveriders edged out the Wildcats, 3-2.
The deciding match was a battle between two strong No. 1 doubles teams. For Konawaena, Brant Yamamoto and Tresen Arakaki battled with Kealakehe’s standout squad of Hiro Sogi and Cory Yamagata, before falling in a pair of 7-5 sets.
“The boys came out ready but we came out on the short end,” said Konawaena boys coach Richard Kahalioumi. “They worked hard and went out there and did what they are supposed to do, but sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t”
The Wildcats got back on the winning track on Saturday and both Arakaki and Yamamoto, upending the No. 1 Hilo doubles team of Noah Hong and Zachary Kamiyama, 6-2, 6-1.
Anakele Apisaloma picked up a victory in the No. 2 slot, but Pancho Shelton fell to Hilo’s Gil Assi 6-1, 6-3 in the No. 1 singles match. Both Shelton and Apisaloma have bounced back in forth between the No. 1 and No. 2 positions all season.
The Konawaena No. 2 doubles team of Kory Urada and Ryan Ogi, and the No. 3 doubles team of Jayse Takimoto and Derek Ogi picked up wins against Hilo to round out the scoring.
The Wildcat boys will have to go through the gauntlet to end the season. In their final two matches, they will face HPA and Waiakea. Several teams are still battling for the top spot in the boys division.
“It has been a pretty good season but a tough road is still ahead,” Kahalioumi said. “The hard work has been showing.”