Kawika Lam wants victory badly enough.

The Punahou junior made that abundantly clear on Wednesday with a 6-4, 6-3 sweep of Hawaii Baptist junior Jeffrey Liang in the boys singles final of the Clay Benham/ILH Tennis Championships at Patsy Mink Central Oahu Regional Park.

That makes it two ILH titles in a row for Lam, a 6-footer with unrelenting intensity and explosiveness. His forehand was crisp, but Liang often answered with power of his own.

"Jeff hits a strong forehand, too. We play similar styles," Lam said. "I’ve played him a lot (outside of ILH)."

Going back to a doubles title two years ago, Lam has become accustomed to hard work and success.

"It’s been a tough journey. You have to practice all year long if you want to get better. It’s a grind," said Lam, whose longest break in the recent "offseason" was a stretch of three days. The regimen included cross-training, putting the racquet down and going swimming now and then. The fire, though, never ceases.

Lam, the defending state champion, will likely be the No. 1 seed for the upcoming state tourney. Liang will likely be the No. 2 seed.

Between the singles and doubles finals for boys and girls, Punahou won three of the four. Ashley Ishimura of Punahou outlasted St. Francis freshman Taylor Lau 6-2, 6-2 in the girls title match.

Ishimura, a junior, took her second ILH title in a row with the win. Her experience proved to be a factor.

"The first set, I knew I had to tough it out with her. We both know how each other plays. I think my experience helped me because I was here last year," Ishimura said. "It came down to grinding it out. She’s so tough. I’m excited for states now."

Punahou seemed to provide a majority of the fans who were on hand to watch.

"The support of my teammates was very, very good. They were cheering and it felt like they were right next to me," Ishimura said.

Lau struggled early on. She entered the match with a slight cold, but expected to play better. In three previous matches against Ishimura at junior tournaments, they went to tiebreakers each time won by Ishimura.

"I feel like I missed a lot. I caught this cold from my brother four days ago, but mostly, it’s just me," Lau said. "I’m certainly not used to crowds. By the last game, I was OK."

Zander Kim and Jon Costales paired up to beat Travis Lau and Dylan Shen 6-3, 6-3 in an all-Punahou battle for the boys doubles crown. The two seniors were composed and confident.

"We’ve practiced a lot against each other. It’s a different environment, but it’s good that Punahou’s represented in the final," Kim said.

That practice routine Costales/Kim versus Lau/Sheen was more or less the norm until recently.

"We cut it off this week to mentally prepare ourselves," Kim said.

The lone upset of the title matches came in girls doubles, where No. 2 Sari Kwee and Kara Okazaki of Iolani edged No. 1 Skyla Alcon and Cori Cummings of Mid-Pacific 7-5, 6-3. They managed the win despite Kwee’s back injury. It tightened up on Tuesday. By Wednesday, she was stretching. A lot.

"Our first time we played them, it was little things we were missing," Kwee said. "We were one step away from the ball. We did that a lot better this time."

Punahou coach Rusty Komori was all over the complex urging his players on.

"I’m pleased that they looked at every match as a challenge to overcome. I’m glad they played with composure and class," he said. "Jeff is a tough player. Kawika won just by trying to outplay him. It was the same thing for Ashley. Taylor is tough. It came down to her preparation. Ashley was very well prepared physically and emotionally."

The Carlsmith Ball/HHSAA Tennis State Championships will be held at Maui’s Wailea Tennis Club and Makena Tennis Club on May 1-3.