KEAAU – Kayla Hollister and Megan Abe make a good fit as doubles partners for Hawaii Preparatory Academy, which has enough depth to make a serious run for the BIIF Team Championships for both boys and girls.
The Team Championships will be held this Saturday at the Holua Tennis Center in Keahou.
Last season, Hollister played singles and advanced to the HHSAA tournament. As a freshman, she played singles during the regular season then paired with Jordan Virtue, who’s now at Harvard, during the postseason at BIIFs and states.
Abe has mostly been a doubles player and has not been to states. Her goal is to get there with Hollister, and they’re helping each other out. It also works that the two juniors swing from different sides; Abe is a right-hander and Hollister a lefty.
“With Megan, it’s fun, and she takes the pressure off,” Hollister said. “I only have to think about keeping each other up mentally. It’s about working together and supporting each other. That helps us a lot, and it’s a big part of tennis.”
Hollister started tennis as a 6-year-old down at Holua and also played a bit of soccer, which is the reigning sport at HPA, a five-time Division II state champion. But kicking a ball never seemed as much fun as hitting one for her.
“I tried soccer when I was little, but I’ve liked more independent sports and maybe having somebody else as a partner,” she said.
Abe is from Kailua-Kona and started tennis even younger as a 4-year-old but played sporadically. She has been into hitting a ball, not kicking it. It wasn’t until she reached HPA that she got serious with tennis.
“I tried golf, but I didn’t like it as much as tennis,” Abe said. “I’ve always played it at a young age. You meet a lot of good people, make a lot of friends through tennis, and it’s fun.
“It’s a lot better playing with Kayla. She’s a close friend and helps me with my mental toughness. That’s a big part of tennis. When I was younger, I would get upset when I missed a shot. Now, I’m a lot better. She has a lot more experience and helps me fix errors and keep my head up.”
The depth is better with the return of Alexandra Peskova, a junior from Slovenia. She’s been out with a knee injury but made her BIIF debut against Kamehameha on Saturday, a rare day of no rain in Hilo.
The top two Ka Makani boys, Ryo Minakata and Hayden Virtue, didn’t make it to Kamehameha. Minakata, a junior and the defending BIIF singles champion, has been unbeatable in league play.
Last season, Minakata finished second for the state championship to Andre Ilagan, who’s now a Farrington senior. He also handily beat Hilo’s Gil Assi in two sets for the BIIF title and brought out the broom again in a March 3 match on the road.
HPA coach Jeff Lewis, who’s in his fourth year, figures Minakata will play singles again at the BIIF championships to chase his brother JJ Minakata, a two-time league champion, who’s now playing at Eastern Washington.
JJ Minakata captured BIIF titles in 2014 and ’15 during a Ka Makani team title three-peat from 2013 to ’15. The last time the HPA girls won a BIIF team crown was also during a three-peat from 2002 to 2004.
The girls run came during the time of Michelle Pautler, a 2003 HPA graduate, who later played at Brown. She finished as the state runner-up as a sophomore and junior and third as a senior. Pautler was also a three-time BIIF singles champ.
During the past decade, Hilo, Kealakehe, Konawaena, and Waiakea have shared the girls BIIF championship. The Hilo boys and Waiakea girls are the defending champs.
It’s more likely than not that Ryo Minakata will dominate again at the BIIF team and individual championships and earn a higher seed than the No. 3 he received last year at states. Lewis pointed out that it’s his international experience and complete package that set him apart.
“What’s to like about Ryo’s game? I like everything. He’s solid technically, and he has hours and hours of hardcore training under his belt,” Lewis said. “That’s something that can’t be replaced. He’s played in Europe in junior tournaments and around the world. He’s got high-level training.”
Lewis and Virtue haven’t talked yet about what they’ll do for the BIIF team championships. It’s two singles and three doubles matches, and Virtue could go anywhere in the lineup. With Minakata, HPA can pretty much put one win in the bank.
They key is finding two more wins each in the BIIF team semis and final. Virtue will likely play a pivotal role.
“He’s a lefty and has a huge serve,” Lewis said. “He understands how to battle and get points, and he knows about consistency and knows how to get wins.”