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State tennis: Fernando tops Teramura to place third

By Robert Collias 4 min read

KAANAPALI -- As the only Maui Interscholastic League player still standing on Saturday morning at the HMSA/HHSAA state tennis tournament, Nikki Fernando felt a sense of responsibility and pride as she took the court at the Royal Lahaina Tennis Ranch.

The Seabury Hall senior, who is headed to the University of Rhode Island to continue her career in the fall, left high school tennis with a win, 6-3, 6-2 over Larissa Teramura of Kalaheo in the third-place singles match.

The championship and third-place matches on the final day of the event were delayed two hours due to rain, but that didn't take the ever-present smile off Fernando's face.

After all, the entire spring sports docket has been delayed since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I feel so great, even though the goal is to win," Fernando said. "I am beyond proud of how far I've come in the past two years. I haven't played a real tournament format in the past two years, so I'm just really proud to come out and, like, (finish) top three in the state. I can't believe it."

Fernando led the Spartans to five points, good enough to place them fifth in the team standings. Punahou ran away with the girls team crown with 22 points, 12 more than Iolani and Mid-Pacific, which finished tied for second.

Maui High scored three girls team points, while King Kekaulike and Kamehameha Maui each had one.

"The main thing I had in mind was I wanted to have fun playing," Fernando said. "Before COVID I felt a lot of pressure and I felt like I was getting burned out. So, I was like, 'I'm going to have fun here and if I win, I win. If I lose, I lose.' Yesterday when I realized I was going to make it until Saturday, I was beyond proud of myself. I knew today, no matter who I was playing, I was just going to have fun again."

While Fernando was carrying the flag for the entire MIL on Saturday, the day could have been called the "Punahou Invitational."

Buffanblu sophomore Payton Jim On -- whose great grandfather Tin Yan Jim On was a standout athlete for Maui High when the campus was located in Hamakuapoko more than 50 years ago -- rolled through the boys singles draw to capture the crown.

He lost just three games in five state matches, beating Punahou teammate Brandon Ramos 6-1, 6-0 in the final.

"I feel really, really great, but that was tough," Payton Jim On said. "I have to thank my team and, of course, Brandon showed a lot of heart out there. But I felt that I prepared a lot for this and I was able to pull the win through."

The Buffanblu had 33 points in the boys standings, 21 more than second-place Waiakea. The Baldwin and Seabury Hall boys tied for sixth with three points apiece. Kihei Charter scored one point in the boys team standings.

Punahou had the two boys singles finalists, and the top three finishers in boys doubles, led by champions Tsubasa Okada and Tanner Ige.

"Personally, it's extremely competitive, but it's also a lot of my friends who I've played against since we were young and we always go back and forth, like we used to beat each other," Jim On said. "It's a very competitive place to play. Practice is so much fun. We can joke around and still get better."

On the girls' side, Punahou's Elise Wong won the singles title and Punahou also had the second- and third-place doubles teams.

The girls doubles title was won by Iolani's Julia Visaya Karli Vo.

* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com.

*****

HMSA/HHSAA State Championships

Saturday's Results

At Royal Lahaina Tennis Ranch

Team

Girls--Punahou 22, Mid-Pacific 10, Iolani 10, Mililani 8, Seabury Hall 5, Kalaheo 4, Maui High 3, Waiakea 3, Pearl City 2, Kamehameha Hawaii 2, Kaiser 2, King Kekaulike 1, Hilo 1, Kealakehe 1, Kalani 1, Konawaena 1, Kamehameha Maui 1, Hawaii Baptist 1.

Boys--Punahou 33, Waiakea 12, Iolani 7, Moanalua 6, Mililani 5, Seabury Hall 3, Baldwin 3, Mid-Pacific 2, Aiea 1, Campbell 1, Kahuku 1, Waipahu 1, Kalani 1, Kihei Charter 1, Kaiser 1.

Girls Singles

Championship--(1) Elise Wong, Punahou, def. (2) Kylie Canubida, Mid-Pacific, 6-3, 6-3.

Third place--(3) Nikki Fernando, Seabury Hall, def. (4) Larissa Teramura, Kalaheo, 6-3, 6-2.

Girls Doubles

Championship--(1) Julia Visaya/Karli Vo, Iolani, def. (3) Jariahlyn Rhoades/Sophia Woofter, Punahou, 6-3, 6-1.

Third place--(2) Harley Wolters/Leyanne Hirota, Punahou, def. (4) Rozelyn Dizon/Kira Tobita, Mililani, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.

Boys Singles

Championship--(1) Payton Jim On, Punahou, def. (2) Brandon Ramos, Punahou, 6-1, 6-0.

Third place--(3) Lori Furuhata, Waiakea, def. (4) Gervase Ngo, Iolani, 6-1, 6-2.

Boys Doubles

Championship--(1) Tsubasa Okada/Tanner Ige, Punahou, def. (3) Alex Kinoshita/Aidan Baracao, Punahou, 6-1, 6-1.

Third place--(2) Cole Kurata/Conner Kurata, Punahou, def. (4) Maika Nucci/Bruin Yomono, Waiakea, 6-1, 6-3.

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