PO‘IPU — Chas Okamoto was off to a tournament on O‘ahu after making short work of his Boys Singles final, Friday at the Kiahuna tennis courts.
“There are about five guys (in the state) who are about equal, and I’ll be meeting two of them in a tournament on O‘ahu this weekend,” Okamoto said after taking a 6-0, 6-0 win over Jeremy Randolf-Flagg of Island School.
During the two days of the 2010 Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation Tennis Qualifying for state, Okamoto did not allow any of his opponents to win a game.
Thursday, Okamoto opened play by downing Kaleo Hauata of Waimea, 6-0, 6-0, advancing to meet Andrew Dutton of Waimea. He defeated Dutton, 6-0, 6-0 to face Randolf-Flagg in the finals.
Gregg Gonsalves, Kapa‘a High School athletic director, said players in the semifinals already qualify to attend the state tournament. This means that Okamoto and Randolf-Flagg will represent the Boys Singles in Kona.
Sarah Kukino won the Girls Singles after defeating her fellow Raider Shay Orial, 6-0, 6-1 in the Friday final. Kukino, undefeated in season play, also fared well on the ladder, opening with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Mikalah Sullivan of Island School and defeating Brittney Barreira of Waimea, 6-1, 6-2 before meeting Orial in the finals.
“This is just like states,” Kaua‘i coach Herb Noe told B.J. Kai, flustered and frustrated following a 3-6 loss in the first set of the Boys Doubles finals. “It’s about how you come back.”
Kai, partnering with Ryan Bieker as the No. 4 seed in the tournament, came back against the unseeded Raider duo of Otis Llewellyn and Jerik Centeno to clinch the title in three, 3-6, 7-5, 6-2.
Llewellyn and Centeno advanced to the semis after upsetting the No. 3-seeded pair of Anthony Lopez and Chris Wong in the quarterfinals, Thursday.
The KIF Boys Doubles will be represented by Kai, Beiker, Llewellyn and Centeno, all part of the Red Raider boys who clinched the KIF title of that division earlier.
The No. 2-seeded team of Meghan Perius and Madison Duarte of Island School played a lot of tennis en route to earning the top slot of the Girls Doubles, Friday.
Perius and Duarte prevailed over the top-seeded pair of Alexis Valdez and Makena McCluskey, 7-6, 3-6, 7-5 in the finals.
En route to that showdown, both teams had to battle for three sets in the quarterfinals to earn their semifinal berths, Valdez and McCluskey getting past the duo of Kaylie Nakamura and Jazzerrie Taeza, 2-6, 7-6(7), 6-3.
Perius and Duarte battled against the No. 3-seeded pair of Jasmine Ikeda and Jennifer Grady of Kaua‘i, also in three sets, 6-1, 2-6, 7-5 to earn a 30-minute break before meeting Valdez and McCluskey in the finals.
The Carlsmith Ball Boys and Girls state tennis championships will be played May 6-8 in Kona.
