The Girl’s 18 Hawaii National Tennis team recently wrapped up a trip to Claremont, California where they competed in the USTA National Team Championships, also known as the Junior Fed Cup.
The Hawaii team managed to improve on the previous year’s performance, moving up two spots to 12th overall.
“Our players represented themselves and Hawaii incredibly well,” coach Andy Klug said. “We saw a lot of improvement from our training block and this experience showed the girls where they stand and what they need to improve upon. I was particularly impressed with their willingness to accept and implement mid-match coaching suggestions. That shows they all have the correct mindset to keep improving.”
On the first day of competition, Hawaii drew the No. 8 seeded Intermountain Team. Diana Wong (Hilo) managed to pick up a victory and Kylee Kata had a chance to serve for match point but fell to a tough opponent.
“All the girls started the tournament a bit tight, but relaxed after the doubles to play some good tennis,” Klug said. “I think they realized that they were competitive even though we came out on the wrong end.”
Hawaii had a better second day by avenging a previous year’s loss to Middle States. Hawaii was able to sweep the doubles points and won at the 4, 5 and 6 singles positions.
“We worked a lot on doubles in our training camp and it really started to pay off,” Klug said. “That we were able to win at 4, 5 and 6 showed our depth as a team.”
The third day of competition brought a tough match against Mid Atlantic. Hawaii would lose the match 4-3.
“We had a chance to win the doubles point but our kids came up just a touch short,” Klug said.
Injuries and exhaustion started to plague the Hawaii team on the fourth day. As temperatures reached 95 degrees, Hawaii lost to a very solid Northern California team.
“All the kids were, understandably, pretty beat up by Day 4,” Klug said. “We tried to use it as an opportunity to explore playing more offensively to shorten the points a bit. That was particularly true with our number one, Taylor Lau (Oahu). Due to leg strain she was forced to try some flatter offensive shots rather than relying on her usual doggedly determined grinding style. Ironically, her injury forced her to try the very thing that will help her get to the next level.”
