Mizutani, Mizuguchi pull big surprise – BIIF Tennis Championships

BIIF defending doubles champions Kealkehe's Jeffrey Gelman and CJ Daub

Mizutani

BIIF TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS BEGIN TODAY

   Waiakea’s top singles players, Kaito Mizutani and Kallen Mizuguchi, have opted to forego playing in the Big Island Interscholastic Federation individual championships and instead have teamed up to play doubles.

   Mizutani and Mizuguchi would have been given the top two individual seeds going into the BIIF championships, but the two good friends decided to team their talents and go for the doubles crown.

   The door is now open for one of several individuals to lay claim to the BIIF crown.  St. Joseph’s Hunter Lee, Kealakehe’s Spencer Travalino, Hawaii Prep’s Jake Moran and Hilo’s Daniel Tada all have a shot at winning the individual title.

Mizuguchi

For the ladies it should be all Sayo.  Kealakehe’s Sayo Tsukamoto will be shooting for her fourth consecutive BIIF individual crown and should be one of the top three players in the state.

The only question for the girl’s singles crown is who will come in second?

   Defending boys doubles champions CJ Daub and Jeffrey Gelman have been given the number 2 seed behind Mizuguchi and Mizutani.

   Defending girls doubles champions Crystal Makaiwi and Sabryna Yates of Kealakehe should have strong competition from Waiakea’s Chelsea Sato and Samantha Maesato.

   The BIIF championship starts today at Holua Tennis Center and concludes on Saturday.

Advertisement

Kealakehe’s Doubles Switch Pays Dividends in BIIF Tennis

Kealakehe's Jeff Gelman and CJ Daub - #1 BIIF doubles team

   Considered to be one of the biggest tennis matches in the Big Island Interscholastic Federation regular season Waiakea and Kealakehe, two undefeated teams, went head to head on Saturday.

   The ‘Riders traveled to Waiakea in a showdown to determine who would be the top dog in BIIF team tennis as the two teams waited from the sidelines for two hours while rain delayed play.

   Both matches were decided by each schools number 3 doubles teams with Waiakea winning the girls, 3-2, and Kealakehe taking the boys by the same score.

   “I think, for us, this is one of the most important games of the season,” Waiakea boys coach Bill Brilhante, Jr. said prior to the match.  “I decided to play a straight up line up and fell victim to a lineup switch by Kealakehe.”

    With Waiakea having two of the top individual players in the BIIF and Kealakehe returning the league’s best doubles champions in Chandler “CJ” Daub and Jeffrey Gelman the showdown rested with the lineup changes produced by ‘Rider coach Jerome Kanuha. 

  “I knew they had better singles players than us,” Kanuha said.  “I decided to take my top singles player and put him into the doubles lineup.”

   The strategy paid off for the crafty Kanuha as Waiakea swept the two singles matches and Kealakehe won the three doubles matches to walk away with the 3-2 team victory over the Warriors.

  The Waiakea boys showcased two of their best individual players in Kaito Mizutani and Kallen Mizuguchi.

Mizuguchi

“Kaito (Mizutani) is ranked #2 in the state for boys 16 and Kallen (Mizuguchi) is ranked at #5 in the state for boys 18,” Coach Brilhante said.

  Mizuguchi made easy work out of ‘Rider Chase Richmond winning in straight sets of 6-1.

   “The only thing working today was my serve,” Mizuguchi said after the match.  “I was thrown off a little when he (Richmond) played at a different pace.  I was expecting something harder and faster and he kept changing the speed and that threw me off.”

   Mizuguchi played a solid all around game with a lightning fast serve and six aces to go with a consistent ground game.

   “My backhand is the most improved part of my game from last year,” Mizuguchi said.  “I think I got everything going in my game, but I still need to work on the mental aspects.  I took a long break by spending two weeks in Japan and it feels like I’m slowly coming back.”

Mizutani

The Warriors number two seed, Kaito Mizutani, won in straight sets 6-1, 6-0 over Aaron Hudman and also displayed a good all around game.

   “He’s (Hudman) pretty much the best I’ve played this season,” Mizutani said.  “I still need to keep working on the basics, my forehand and backhand, and I need to be more patient and not go after every shot.”

   Meanwhile defending BIIF doubles champions, CJ Daub and Jeffrey Gelman, was showing why they have yet to lose a regular season match in league play as they won 6-4, 6-1 over Warriors Chad Hara and Isaiah Brilhante.

   “We’ve been playing together for five years and we get along well and have a good friendship,” Gelman said.

   The duo won the doubles championships last year as freshman and look to continue their domination.

   “We’ve known each other since preschool and we like playing together,” Daub said.

   Kealakehe’s #2 doubles team of Shoyo Tsukamoto and Spencer Travalino defeated Garry Murayama and Caden Yamamoto 6-0, 6-1 and teammates Dillon Castillo and Chris Lysiuk beat Waiakea’s Chris Simons and Kris Shigehara 6-2, 7-5.

   For the girls it was Kealakehe’s three time BIIF individual champion, Sayo Tsukamoto, beating a talented Ceara Sumida by identical scores of 6-1.

Green

‘Rider teammate Daisy Green, playing in the #2 singles spot, defeated Warrior Leisha Ishikawa in straight sets of 6-0.

   Playing in the shadow of Tsukamoto, Green has quietly gone undefeated in BIIF regular season play last year as a freshman and continues her streak into her sophomore year.

   “I make less mistakes that the people I play and I just wait for them to make the errors,” Green said.  “I use top spin on my serves and my ground stokes have worked well for me.  I just need to be more aggressive and not sit back on the ball.”

  With the two individual matches going to the Kealakehe the defending girl’s team champions had to just sit back and wait for one of their doubles teams to come through with a win.

  Waiakea bounced back when their doubles teams swept Kealakehe to win the overall team scoring 3-2.

   For Warriors #1 doubles team of Samantha Maesato and Chelsea Sato is was a marathon afternoon that went the full three sets.  The Warriors beat the talented duo of Crystal Makaiwi and Kristen Winther 6-3, 2-6 and 7-5.

   In the #2 doubles match it was Warriors Kaede Kanzawa and Stephanie Matsuura beating out Tiera Makaiwi and Tammi Nedlic, 6-2, 6-4 to make things interesting.

   Like in the boys play everything came down to the #3 doubles team of Warriors Qiana Hironaka and Shala Kushi who made a comeback against Lauren Fujino and Maura Montenero.

   After losing the first set 6-3 the Warrior duo rallied to win the second set 7-5 and closed the team victory with a final 6-3 score.

Kealakehe Boys and Girls perfect in BIIF Tennis Standings

photo by Rick Ogata

BIIF Tennis Results 3/13/10

 Boys      Played 3/11/10    Hilo 2 , HPA 3   Singles:  Jake Moran (HPA) def. Daniel Tada (Hil) 6-3, 5-7, 6-3

Singles:  Alex Zavarro (Hil) def. Michael Monahan (HPA) 5-7, 7-6(5), 6-4  Doubles:  Jonathan Maesato (Hil)/ Dillon Kell (Hil) def. Zane Moran (HPA)/ Sam Nam (HPA) 6-3, 7-6(5)  Doubles:  Bobby Souza (HPA)/ Janta Chirathivat (HPA) def. Justin Takeda (Hil)/ Reyn Yoshioka (Hil) 6-2, 6-3   Doubles:  Won Joon Kim (HPA)/ Hiroki Kawalkami (HPA) def. Grant Emerson (Hil)/ Jordan Dumlao (Hil) 6-2, 6-1

Girls      Played 3/11/10      Hilo 5 , HPA 0  Singles:  Kendall Tada (Hil) def. Erin Wakefield-McDonald (HPA) 6-2, 6-0Singles:  Grace Riley (Hil) def. Jackie Ornellas (HPA) 6-4, 6-1  Doubles:  Clarissa Crawford (Hil)/ Megan Cabison (Hil) def. Na Yoon Kim (HPA)/ Angie Shumo (HPA) 2-6, 6-1, 7-5  Doubles:  Reina Sako (Hil)/ Sarah Nako (Hil) def. Claire Rho (HPA)/ Mikeala Owen(HPA) 6-4, 6-4  Doubles:  Stacie Lim (Hil)/ Joyce Iwashita (Hil) won by default

Boys   Kamehameha 2 , Kealakehe 3 Singles:  Spencer Travalino (KEAL) def. Keoni K. Wong (KS) 6-1, 6-2Singles:  Kamehameha won by default    Doubles:  Chandler “CJ’ Daub (KEAL)/ Jeffrey Gelman (KEAL) def. Elijah Pung (KS)/ Harley Smith (KS) 6-1, 6-0   Doubles:  Dillon Castillo (KEAL)/ Chris Lysiuk (KEAL) def. Caycee John (CJ) Matsuyama (KS)/ Francis L. Kaho’okaulana-Sulpriz (KS) 6-0, 6-1   Doubles:  Jacob Kackley (KS)/ Kaulana Ho (KS) def. Aaron Hudman (KEAL)/ Brandon Sawada (KEAL) 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(7)

Girls    Kamehameha 1 , Kealakehe 4  Singles:  Sayo Tsukamoto (KEAL) def. Tehani Sewell (KS) 6-0, 6-0Singles:  Daisy Green (KEAL) def. Nicole Jardine (KS) 6-0, 6-0  Doubles:  Sabryna Yates (KEAL)/ Karina Keith (KEAL) def. Kahealani R. Kanuha (KS)/ Kekai Turner (KS) 6-0, 6-1  Doubles:  Jaci Macida (KS)/ Corin N.L. Kim (KS) def. Yoko Nedlic (KEAL)/ Tammie Nedlic (KEAL) 4-6, 7-5, 6-0  Doubles:  Tiera Makaiwi (KEAL)/ Lauren Fujino  (KEAL) def. Shariyah (Yaya) Campbell (KS)/ Sadie Arakaki (KS) 6-2, 6-0

Boys    St. Joseph’s 5 , Parker 0  Singles:  Hunter Lee (SJ) def. Kenyon Smith (PAR) 6-0, 6-1 Singles:  Gunnar Austin Lee (SJ) def. Jesse Tarnas (PAR) 6-0, 6-0  Doubles:  Christian Borris (SJ)/ Sawyer Rogers (SJ) def. Josh Inaba (PAR)/ Kai Inaba (PAR) 6-3, 6-2  Doubles:  Robert D’Anna (SJ)/ Devyn Monberg (SJ) def. Charlie Charbonneau (PAR)/ Shotaro Kume (PAR) 6-3, 6-3  Doubles:  Dante Fernandes (SJ)/ Matthew Katibah (SJ) def. Cary Hoy (PAR)/ Kieran Najita (PAR) 6-0, 6-0

Girls   St. Joseph’s 2 , Parker 3  Singles:  Jenna Gerdsen (PAR) def. Amber Masulit (SJ) 6-0, 6-0  Singles:  Emilie Skladzien (PAR) won by default  Doubles:  Lucy Grimm (SJ)/ Stephanie Tait (SJ) def. Marit Winborne (PAR)/ Madi Pozner (PAR) 4-6, 6-2, 6-2  Doubles:  Malia Nemeth (SJ)/ Samantha Thorsen (SJ) def. Ajana Lowrey (PAR)/ Shelby Watson (PAR) 6-4, 7-5  Doubles:  Zhasmena Jasmine Asoyan (PAR)/ Lauren Sweere (PAR) won default

Boys    Kohala 3 , Makua Lani 2   Singles:  Andrew Trump (KOH) def. Paul Whalen (ML) 6-0, 6-0  Singles:  Nathan Trump (KOH) def. Josh Brunner (ML) 6-2, 6-0  Doubles:  Jordan Heres (ML)/ Damian Mabuni (ML)def. Jeong Cho (KOH)/ James Werner (KOH) 7-5, 6-2  Doubles:  Ariel Arenas (KOH)/ Dylan Snelling (KOH) def. Elisha Navarro (ML)/ Keawe Alapai (ML) 7-5, 6-2  Doubles:  Jonathan Nagy (ML)/ Ryder Souza (ML) won by default

Girls     Kohala 0 , Makua Lani 5   Singles:  Catherine Hudson (ML) won by default  Singles:  Keelee Martin (ML) won by default  Doubles:  Lauren Mabuni (ML)/ Tiffany Nakamura (ML) def. Liza Monsalve (KOH)/ Michelle Ruiz Sahagun (KOH) 6-2, 6-1  Doubles:  Chaya Cacal (ML)/ Madison Wanner (ML) won by default  Doubles:  Gabrielle Shields (ML)/ Mercedes DeCarli (ML) won by default

 

TENNIS STANDINGS 2010
as of 3/13/10
BOYS			GIRLS
Kealakehe	3-0		Kealakehe	3-0
Waiakea	1-0		Kamehameha	1-1
Konawaena	1-0		Waiakea	1-0
HPA	2-0		Konawaena	1-0
Hilo	0-2		Hilo	1-1
Kamehameha	0-2		HPA	0-2
St. Joseph	1-1		St. Joseph	0-2
Parker	0-3		Parker	1-2
Kohala	2-0		Laupahoehoe	1-0
Honokaa	0-0		Honokaa	0-0
Makua Lani	0-1		Makua Lani	1-0
Pahoa	0-0		Pahoa	0-0
Kau	0-0		Kau	0-0
Keaau	0-0		Keaau	0-0
Laupahoehoe	0-1		Kohala	0-2

 

BIIF Tennis Season Kicks Off – Results and Standings

Photo by Rick Ogata

TENNIS STANDINGS 2010
as of 3/6/10
BOYS			GIRLS
Kealakehe	2-0		Kamehameha	2-0
Waiakea	1-0		Waiakea	1-0
Konawaena	1-0		Konawaena	1-0
HPA	1-0		Kealakehe	1-0
Hilo	0-1		Hilo	0-1
Kamehameha	0-1		HPA	0-1
St. Joseph	0-1		St. Joseph	0-1
Parker	0-2		Parker	0-2
Kohala	1-0		Laupahoehoe	1-0
Honokaa	0-0		Honokaa	0-0
Makua Lani	0-0		Makua Lani	0-0
Pahoa	0-0		Pahoa	0-0
Kau	0-0		Kau	0-0
Keaau	0-0		Keaau	0-0
Laupahoehoe	0-1		Kohala	0-1

 BIIF Tennis Results 3/3/10

 Boys     Hilo 0 , Kealakehe 4

Singles:  Spencer Travalino (KEAL) def. Daniel Tada (Hil) 6-4, 6-2

Singles:  Chris Lysiuk (KEAL) def. Alex Zavarro (Hil) 5-7, 7-5, 6-2

Doubles:  Chandler “CJ’ Daub (KEAL)/ Jeffrey Gelman (KEAL) def. Jonathan Maesato (Hil)/ Devin Chu (Hil) 6-1, 6-1

Doubles:  Shoyo Tsukamoto (KEAL)/ Dillon Castillo (KEAL) def. Richard Weiser (Hil)/ Dillon Kell (Hil) 7-6(3), 6-4

Doubles:  Brandon Sawada (KEAL)/ Brian Tu (KEAL) vs. Reyn Yoshioka (Hil)/ Justin Takeda (Hil)  Did not report score

 Girls     Hilo 1 , Kealakehe 4

Singles:  Sayo Tsukamoto (KEAL) def. Kendall Tada (Hil) 6-2, 6-1

Singles:  Daisy Green (KEAL) def. Grace Riley (Hil) 6-1, 6-2

Doubles:  Crystal Makaiwi (KEAL)/ Karina Keith (KEAL) def. Sarah Nako (Hil)/ Reina Sako (Hil) 6-3, 6-0

Doubles:  Sabryna Yates (KEAL)/ Kristen Winther (KEAL) def. Stacie Lim (Hil)/ Joyce Iwashita (Hil) 6-0, 6-0

Doubles:Clarissa Crawford (Hil)/ Megan Cabison (Hil) def. Cierra Abellara (KEAL)/ Cecilia Stolzlechner (KEAL) 6-4,6-3

Boys     Waiakea 5 , St. Joseph 0

Singles:  Kaito Mizutani (WHS)) def. Gunnar Austin Lee (SJ) 6-0, 6-0

Singles:  Kallen Mizuguchi (WHS) def. Yu-Jen Chen (SJ) 6-0, 6-0

Doubles:  Isaiah Brilhante (WHS)/Chad Hara (WHS) def. Christian Borris (SJ)/Sawyer Rogers (SJ) 6-0, 6-0

Doubles:  Christopher Simmons (WHS)/Gary Muriuma (WHS) def. Robert D’Anna (SJ)/ Christopher Wyrick (SJ) 6-3, 6-2

Doubles:  Kris Shigehara (WHS)/ Caden Yamamoto (WHS) def. Dante Fernandes (SJ)/ Matthew Katibah (SJ) 7-6(3), 6-4

  Girls      Waiakea 5 , St. Joseph 0

Singles:  Leisha Ishikawa (WHS) def. Corinne Quinajon (SJ) 6-2, 6-1

Singles:  Candice Roddie (WHS) def. Amber Masulit (SJ) 6-0, 6-0

Doubles:  Kaede Kanzawa (WHS)/ Stephanie Matsuura (WHS) def. Lucy Grimm (SJ)/ Stephanie Tait (SJ) 6-2, 6-1

Doubles:  Quiana Hironaka (WHS)/ Sayla Kushi (WHS) def. Samantha Thorsen (SJ)/ Malia Nemeth (SJ) 6-1, 6-3

Doubles:  Julie Hara (WHS)/ Sara Matsuura (WHS) won by default

 Boys     Parker 2 , Kona 3

Singles:  Taylor Nakamoto (Kon) def. Kenyon Smith (PAR) 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-3

Singles:  Elliot Warkus (PAR) def. Trevor Yamagata (Kon) 6-3, 6-1

Doubles:  Josh Inaba (PAR)/ Kai Inaba (PAR) def. Caelen McHale (Kon)/ Justin Uchimura (Kon) 6-4, 6-2

Doubles:  Anthony Ganuelas (Kon)/ Conrad Iranon (Kon) def. Charlie Charbonneau (PAR)/ Shotaro Kume (PAR) 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-2

Doubles:  Daniel Leleiwi (Kon)/ Matthew Savella (Kon) def. Kieran Najita (PAR)/ Cary Hoy (PAR) 6-1, 6-1

 Girls    Parker 2 , Kona 3

Singles:  Jenna Gerdsen (PAR) def. Cassiday Ching (Kon) 6-0, 6-0

Singles:  Emilie Skladzien (PAR) def. Kacey Kim (Kon) 6-4, 6-2

Doubles:  Alyssa Inaba (Kon)/ Jessica Ching (Kon) def. Madi Pozner (PAR)/ Marit Winborne (PAR) 6-0, 6-1

Doubles:  Jacqueline Moctezuma (Kon)/ Emma Hayko (Kon) def. Shelby Watson (PAR)/ Ajana Lowrey (PAR) 6-3, 6-4

Doubles:  Ashley Teshima (Kon)/ Hedwyne Dario (Kon) def. Lauren Sweere (PAR)/ Zhasmena Jasmine Asoyan (PAR) 7-5, 7-5

 Boys     Kamehameha 0 , HPA 5

Singles:  Jake Moran (HPA) def. Hunter O. Christensen (KS) 6-0, 6-0

Singles:  Michael Monahan (HPA) def. Matt K. Yamamoto (KS) 6-0, 6-1

Doubles:  Zane Moran (HPA)/ Sam Nam (HPA) def. Keoni K. Wong (KS)/ Shaun Kagawa (KS) 6-1, 7-5

Doubles:  Bobby Souza (HPA)/ Santa Chirathivat (HPA) def. Francis L. Kaho’okaulana-Sulpriz (KS)/ Harley Smith (KS) 6-1, 6-1

Doubles:  Won Joon Kim (HPA)/ Hiroki Kawalkami (HPA) def. Casey Chai (KS)/ Elijah Pung (KS) 6-0, 6-0

  Girls       Kamehameha 4 , HPA 1

Singles:  Erin Wakefield-McDonald (HPA) def Kekai Turner (KS) 6-1, 6-3

Singles:  Tehani Sewell (KS) def. Jackie Ornellas (HPA) 4-6, 6-2, 6-4

Doubles:  Amanda R. Lerma (KS)/ Kahealani R. Kanuha (KS) def. Na Yoon Kim (HPA)/ Rosa Lee (HPA) 6-0, 6-0

Doubles:  Corin N.L. Kim (KS)/ Jaci Macida (KS) def. Eun Sol Lee (HPA)/ Claire Rho (HPA) 6-1, 6-2

Doubles:  Rebekah S.K. Friel (KS)/ Shariyah (Yaya) Campbell (KS) def. Mikeala Owen (HPA)/ Bua Rojanai (HPA) 6-2, 6-1

Kurtistown Teen Looking to Play the Best

Sarah Dvorak, 13, is one of Hawaii's best tennis players

To be good at a sport you need to play against the best competition and for 13-year old Sarah Dvorak finding the best tennis players to compete against often means traveling to the mainland to enter tournaments.

Over the weekend Dvorak and her family drove over to the West Side of the Island to enter the Queen K Tesoro Annual Fall Mixed Doubles Tournament hosted by the Royal Kona Tennis Club and her coach, Evan Schermer.

“The tournament that we put together is for adults, but I wanted Sarah to play so that she could gain more experience,” Schermer said.  “She’s the strongest singles woman in the tournament, but doubles is a totally different game and this should be fun for her.”

Schermer came to Kona from the Pennsylvania area where he coached tennis for Robert Morris University.  “Sarah has a tremendous work ethic and she maximizes her potential by working really hard,” he said.

During the 2009 junior tennis season Dvorak, in her quest to play the best has often entered the older, high school age division, to gain the most experience.

Earlier in the year Dvorak played in the 18 year old bracket of the West Hawaii District Junior Championships and then went on to compete in and win the 14-year old division of the Nike Junior Tournament a month later.

Dvorak advanced in the West Hawaii District tournament by beating three time Big Island Interscholastic Federation tennis champion, Sayo Tsukamoto of Kealakehe, winning in straight sets 6-2, 7-6.

Over the Labor Day weekend Dvorak, an 8^th grader at Waiakea Intermediate School, won the Hilo’s Fall Junior Sectional Tennis Tournament Championship while playing in the 18-year old bracket.

Coach Schermer believes that the older completion makes Dvorak a better player.  “In tennis you really need the combination of being an athlete first and a tennis player second,” he said.  “Sarah has a good tennis base and needs to work on her athleticism.  I’ve got to make sure that she heads in the right direction.”

By mid September Dvorak was competing in the Nike Tournament in California where she faced experienced players in the 14 division.

“I think that the path that Sarah is heading in will lead to her going to a college with a strong tennis program,” Schermer said.  “She should one day be able to play in the upper tier of college programs.”

While her serve and ground strokes are very competitive she still lacks the high caliber play that is found at the national tournament level.

At the end of October Dvorak played in the North Hawaii Tennis Association Junior Championships where she finished second in the 18 division losing to Sarah Kukino in the finals 7-5, 7-5.

Despite last month’s loss Dvorak is ranked at number 5 in the state for the 18 year old division and has compiled a 13-3 record during 2009.  “Tennis players are 100 percent made on so much technique and Sarah still needs help in this area,” Coach Schermer said. 

Dvorak’s coach believes that there are other areas in which the youngster needs to work on to become a better player and that playing older girls have helped her game improve.   

“A t the Nike Tournament Sarah played really well as her serve and ground strokes are better than most of the competition,” her mother, Rose Dvorak, said.  “But what she lacks is playing experience against a higher level of talent.”

Now the focus is to send the talented youngster to play in the USTA National Winter Championships in Scottsdale, Arizona to face some of the best competition in her age division.

The Winter Championships run from December 27 to January 1 and if Dvorak qualifies she will then compete in the Copper Bowl Tennis Tournament held in Tucson from Jan 2 – 7.

Dvorak’s family must decide prior to December 3 if Sarah will be competing at Nationals over the holidays and their decision will be based on finances.

Dvorak’s mother, Rose, who is a tennis coach at St. Joseph High School believes that the cost of getting Sarah to play in Tucson during the holidays could exceed $3,000 a price tag that would put a strain on the families budget.

If anyone would like to help Sarah Dvorak with her travel expenses the family is accepting donations which can be mailed to:  Rose Dvorak, P.O. Box 1154, Kurtistown, HI 96760.