The road to state gold ended for all but one BIIF tennis player on Friday in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of the HHSAA state tournament on Maui.
Hawaii Preparatory Academy standout and BIIF boys champion Ryo Minakata was the lone survivor, pulling out a three set thriller 7-6 (4), 3-6, (4) against second seeded Phuc Huynh of Iolani.
Huynh was the reigning champion after upsetting last year’s No. 1 seed Andre Ilagan in the finals in straight sets.
Minakata, the No. 3 seeded player in the tournament, will take on Ilagan, who is once again the tournament’s top seeded player, in the finals. The Farington standout has made quick work off all three of his opponents, winning in straight sets each time by a combined game score of 36-7.
Minakata arrived at Hawaii Prep in January, following in his brother J.J. Minakata’s footsteps. J.J. was a two-time BIIF champion but was never able to claim a state title, and the school has never had an individual winner at the state level.
His younger brother Ryo will have the chance today with the match set for 8:30 a.m. at the Royal Lahaina Tennis Ranch and Kapalua Tennis Garden.
In girls singles action, Konawaena’s Tayvia Yamagata saw her championship aspirations end at the hands of No. 2 seeded Taylor Lau of Saint Francis. Lau defeated the No. 4 ranked Yamagata in straight sets, 7-6 (3), 6-2. Yamagata won the BIIF championship last month and had cruised through her first three opponents before falling to Lau.
As for doubles, both the Kealakehe and Waiakea girls squads made a strong run through the state tournament field but both lost in the semifinal round on Friday.
The BIIF champion and No. 3 overall seeded Waverider duo of April Wong and Michelle Uyeda fell to No. 5 seed Tristen Bryant-Otake and Annika Alcon (Mid-Pac) 6-2, 7-5.
The BIIF runner-up squad made up of freshmen Maile Brihante an Kianna Oda, playing as the No. 4 seed in the tournament, lost in three sets to the No. 1 overall seed from Punahou, Clarise Huang and Betsy Wo. Huang and Wo won in three sets 5-7, 6-2, (2).
The Kealakehe boys pairing of Brett Guccione and Cameron Ventura lost in their first match of the day on Saturday. The No. 6 seeded team lost in the quarterfinals to No. 3 seeded Kailuhia Lam and Jaryd Ma (Punahou) 1-6, 2-6.