KAILUA-KONA — Konawaena head coach Richard Kahalioumi has no problem remembering the last time the Wildcat boys won a BIIF tennis title. That’s because back in 2000, Kahalioumi was on that team.
KAILUA-KONA — Konawaena head coach Richard Kahalioumi has no problem remembering the last time the Wildcat boys won a BIIF tennis title. That’s because back in 2000, Kahalioumi was on that team.
“We had a bunch of athletes on that team but I think I was the only one who played tennis full time,” Kahalioumi said. “We have a lot more tennis players now but talent wise they are very similar. Both loved to compete.”
Sixteen years later, Konawaena is back on top again after beating Hilo in a 3-2 match at the Holua Tennis Center on Saturday. The Wildcats entered as the underdogs, with the Vikings boasting a slightly better record. Hilo also beat Konawaena during the regular season.
“It was a squeaker,” Kahalioumi said. “It was a squeaker the first time we played them too. Hilo has great coaches who are very intelligent, which made it tough for me because I was smashing my brain the entire week trying to decide what I was going to do.”
The Wildcat boys were not alone in celebrating victory. The Konawaena girls also claimed the BIIF title with a 3-2 win over Kealakehe. The Lady Wildcats have now won back-to-back championships after experiencing a 20 year drought of their own.
“It was a very intense match with a lot of pressure,” Konawaena girls coach Debi Yamamoto said. “I think the girls went into the match a little unsure of themselves but as they started winning more games they gained more confidence. They rose to the occasion.”
Coincidentally, both championships came down a final match. Both where the No. 2 doubles match and both were the most competitive matches of the finals.
“That is how it should be,” Yamamoto said. “We kind of expected it to work out that way.”
Konawaena had a game plan coming into the finals, but it was a risky one. Kahalioumi and Yamamoto both decided to split up their No. 3 doubles team to play in the No. 1 and No. 2 singles slot so that they could stack their teams in the doubles competition.
The plan worked. Even though the Wildcats lost all four of their combined singles matches, they won all six doubles matches.
“When we played Hilo earlier in the season they beat us so I had a pretty good idea of what they would try to do,” Kahalioumi said. “We knew it wasn’t going to be an easy road but the guys worked hard and played their game.“
In the boys title match, Hilo’s Gil Assi and Li Aki won their singles matches to put the Vikings up 2-0. Konawaena answered back with two doubles wins. Anakele Apisaloma and Brant Yamamoto made quick work of their competition in the No. 1 doubles match. Peter Meise and Tresen Arakaki followed with a win in the No. 3 doubles match.
Tied at 2-2, the title came down to one more doubles match. The Wildcats had the advantage as their strategy paid off. Their No. 2 doubles team consisted of their No. 1 and No. 2 singles players, Pancho Shelton and Ryan Ogi. While the duo had not paired up this year, they worked well together, defeating the Hilo tandem of Andrew Ouye and Brad Nakamura.
Shelton and Ogi took the first set easily, winning 6-1. However, in the second set they were up 5-2, only to see Hilo win back-to-back games to close the gap. Shelton and Ogi quickly put their game back together to win the next few points and the set, 6-4.
“I didn’t tell them that the match was tied 2-2, but I am pretty sure they picked up on it when everyone was watching them,” Kahalioumi said. “The pressure built but they handled it.”
For Shelton, this was the second big win of the day. He played in the No. 1 singles match in the semifinals, upsetting Hawaii Preparatory Academy’s Jakub Petras 6-4, 6-2. The win was much needed as the Wildcats also won 3-2 in the semifinals.
“I played a very good player in the semifinals and I think we both played very well,” Shelton said. “The first time I played him I started a little slow and could not come back, but this time the match went pretty well. I had a good all-around game, but I was pretty tired when it was over.”
Shelton’s fatigue after that grueling match actually made the decision easier for Kahalioumi to play his singles standout in a doubles match in the championship.
“Pancho played a tough match against Jakub and I didn’t think he had enough in him to play another tough singles match,” Kahalioumi said. “Pancho being unsure if he could play was kind of the clincher. It worked out.”
The girls championship played out exactly the same. Kealakehe’s April Wong and Michelle Uyeda were dominant in the No. 1 and 2 singles slot. Neither player dropped a set.
Konawaena then came back to tie the match in the doubles competition. The Lady Wildcats played both their top singles players at the No. 1 doubles spot. The team of Tayvia Yamagata and Rashai Kailiwai dominated their opponents in straight sets. The No. 3 doubles team of Sarah Wagner and McKenna Ventura, who normally play in the No. 2 slot, also won their match without dropping a point.
The title came down to the final doubles match. For Konawaena, the Lady Wildcats had the Ekstrom sisters, who usually play in the No. 1 slot but this time were playing No. 2 doubles. Kira and Haley Ekstrom battled with the Waveriders’ Teagan Travalino and Fiona Miranda, winning the first set 6-4. In the second set, the Lady Wildcats fell down 3-2, but won three straight games. Up 5-2, Konawaena had match point several times but Kealakehe fought back to take the game. Not getting discouraged, the Lady Wildcat duo broke the Waveriders’ serve in the next game for the match and the title.
The win clinched an undefeated season for the Konawaena girls.
“Everyone contributed to this win and it feels really good to do it as a team,” Yamagata said. “This win feels even better than last year because the boys were able to win as well. It is good for the school.”