The podium at the 2023 ILH tennis championships was occupied by fresh faces, as three out of the four gold medals up for grab saw new champions in Wednesday’s final round at the Patsy Mink Central Oahu Regional Park Tennis Courts.
Punahou duo Tsubasa Okada and Tanner Ige were the only returning champions to reclaim their crown in their division.
“The mental pressure is all on us,” Okada said. “Last year we were the champs, and this year we were first seed in the ILH. All of the underdogs are hyped up at the chance to beat us. It’s hard, but as the first seed, it’s all on us to keep ourselves pumped up and have the spirit to win.”
“It’s different from last year,” Ige, a sophomore, said about being a returning champion. “At least for me, I was toward the bottom of the rankings last season. I’m not used to being the guy to beat. I’m usually the guy trying to claw my way up to the top. I’m usually the underdog trying to take out the higher seeds. So this year was definitely different. It was a different type of pressure. Instead of trying to prove myself, it was defending what we had already accomplished. It was fun. I want to relive this moment again if I can.”
The top-seeded pair of Okada and Ige took down No. 2 Spencer Yamamoto and Glen Ngo of ‘Iolani 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 in the boys doubles final.
“It feels great,” Okada said about the win. “Last year we split sets against our own teammates. It’s tough. We really need to keep our mentality up all the time. We both got down at some points this match, but we managed to keep ourselves pumped up.”
The win wasn’t always certain as the ‘Iolani pair drew first blood with a 6-4 win in the first set in front of a raucous crowd of both ‘Iolani and Punahou supporters.
“We had to keep each other high on energy. When you’re losing, it’s hard to pump ourselves up,” Ige said. “But I think, the whole crowd helped us out. They helped us get back up. There was a lot of noise, and I think we both thrive in that environment.”
The second set was tightly contested early, with Okada and Ige holding a slim 3-2 lead. The underdogs could only hold out for so long, as Punahou soon turned the tide. Okada and Ige won the next three games to claim the Set 2 win. The Punahou pair continued their dominant run in the final set.
In the first match of the day, challenger Andre Ajed made his intentions known early. With the first set tied at 2, the No. 2 seeded senior from Mid-Pacific won the next four games to cruise to a first-set victory over a familiar foe in defending ILH boys singles champion and top-seeded Payton Jim On of Punahou.
“We actually travel a lot to national tournaments together,” Ajed said about Jim On. “When I play against him, I feel like every point that I win takes so much effort and energy. Every time we play against each other, it all depends on the day, and today luckily was my day.”
Ajed and Jim On traded blows throughout a much more evenly matched second set. Ajed pulled away to take a 4-2 lead through six games played, but Jim On responded with back-to-back wins, including one that was decided after four deuces, to tie things up. Ajed and Jim On eventually battled to a 6-6 tie, sending the match to tiebreakers.
With the tiebreaker knotted at 5-5, Ajed found a burst of energy, scoring the final two points to claim the 6-2, 7-6 (5) win and the ILH boys singles title.
“It’s amazing,” Ajed said about the win. “It’s my first year playing varsity since my sophomore year. To be able to come back, play for Mid-Pacific, and win the ILH championship, it honestly just feels amazing.”
Unlike the other challengers, ‘Iolani’s Julia Visaya has an ILH title to her name. Visaya claimed the ILH girls doubles championship last year with her partner Karli Vo. This year, Visaya decided to compete in girls singles instead.
The decision proved to be a good one, as she unseated the defending girls singles champion, Punahou’s Elise Wong 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (3).
“It was really different coming from doubles to singles,” Visaya said. “I just had to practice harder, get stronger mentally, because there’s no one else to lean on.”
“We practice together all the times,” Visaya said about Wong. “I feel like we really know each others’ game. So I just had to use that knowledge and play to the best of my ability.”
Visaya won a back-and-forth first set 6-4, followed by a dominant 6-2 win in Set 2 for Wong. Visaya rebounded from the brink of defeat to tie up the final set at 6-6 and force a tiebreaker. Tied 2-2 in the tiebreaker round, Visaya scored back-to-back points to go up 4-2, then responded to Wong’s point with four straight points to claim the match.
Punahou’s Harley Wolters was nearly a returning champion. Wolter, with then partner Leyanne Hirota, fell one game short of the title as they fell to Visaya and Vo in last year’s ILH girls doubles championship. Wolter returned this year with a new yet familiar partner in Sophia Woofter. The Wolter and Woofter duo, who last played together their freshman year, proved to a fruitful partnership as they took down teammates Cassidy Kawashima and Kacy Kaneshige 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (1) to claim the girls doubles crown.
“We’ve always been naturally a very good team,” Wolters said about her partnership with Woofter. “We have great communication skills. Even back in freshman year we did really well together. I’m very thankful for Sophia and very happy that we’ve been able to play together again.”
“I’m always super happy to play with Harley, because I know that if one of us makes a mistake, it’s not about who’s fault,” Woofter added. “It’s always positive support, no matter if we win a point or lose a point, just clearing our head and bouncing back is super easy with our dynamic.”
Wolters and Woofter started the match strong, winning the first set but Kawashima and Kaneshige took a 4-1 lead in the second en route to a 6-4 win. The final set was knotted at 5-5 late. Each pair managed a win to send the match into tiebreakers at 6-6. Wolters and Woofter were dominant in tiebreakers, scoring five unanswered points to start the round. In the end, Wolters and Woofter conceded just a single point in tiebreakers as they cruised to the title.
“I think we’re just really motivated now, to keep this going into states,” Wolters said.
