It’s not a secret and it’s certainly not a surprise that Kaua‘i High School seniors Alex “The Cat” Sirois and Jordan “Silk” Kukino are the top seeds for singles in Thursday’s state tennis qualifying matches at the Kiahuna Tennis Courts.
It’s not a secret and it’s certainly not a surprise that Kaua‘i High School seniors Alex “The Cat” Sirois and Jordan “Silk” Kukino are the top seeds for singles in Thursday’s state tennis qualifying matches at the Kiahuna Tennis Courts.
“It’s going to be hard to beat those two players, (Sirois and Kukino) but they earned their number one seeds,” Kapa‘a High School head tennis coach Jonathan Tom said.
On both Thursday and Friday, the contests will kick off at 8 a.m. Friday will start off quarterfinal action and end with the top four state qualifiers in each division (girls and boys singles, girls and boys doubles).
Both Sirois and Kukino have unblemished records this season and it looks like it will stay that way throughout the two-day event.
Waimea senior Sonya Tacub is the girls’ second seed, followed by Kapa‘a senior Shawna Tamayose, and Kula junior Ariel Carlson holds down the fourth spot.
Island School’s Justin Vea, who went far in last year’s state tennis tournament, is the boys’ second seed. Kapa‘a’s Kia “Sportage” Tom and Waimea’s Joe Mecham round out the top four players in the boys’ bracket.
Kula’s dynamic duo of Alex Latif and Kyle Barrett are the top boys’ doubles team. The Kula athletes made it all the way to the semifinals of last season’s state tournament.
Chad “Great Smiles” Naganuma and James Odan of Kaua‘i hold down the number two slot, followed by Waimea’s Bryan Hayashi and Peterson Dela Cruz. Kaua‘i’s Steve Mc-Claren and Michael “Blonde Boy” Hirahara earned the fourth seed.
Alex’s younger sister Cassady, along with Megan Vento, swooped up the top seed for the girls’ doubles tournament. The duo was tough during the regular season and beating them during the qualifiers should be a tough feat for any team.
Kapa‘a’s Tasha Haraguchi and Crystine “Judge” Ito, the second seeded duo, should challenge Sirois and Vento for the title.
Waimea’s Reiko Ayabe and Ciera Sherman earned the third spot and Kapa‘a’s Mariko Asano and Christine “Lois” Lane nabbed the fourth seed. See all the state tennis qualifying action, starting at 8 a.m. at the Kiahuna Tennis Courts on Thursday and then quarterfinal action will commence on Friday at 8 a.m.
