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The pandemic doesn’t appear to have changed the landscape in state girls tennis.
Punahou, which has won the past 17 team titles, leads the HMSA/HHSAA Tennis Championships by three points over Mid-Pacific and Mililani at the Royal Lahaina Tennis Ranch &Kapalua Tennis Garden through the round of 16. It is the first state tennis tournament since 2019.
Punahou leads the boys race by three points over Waiakea, 10-7. The Buffanblu boys haven’t won it since 2016, stepping aside as ‘Iolani won the past three. The Raiders have five points and are looking up at Moanalua’s six.
There were no surprises through the first day, with all eight seeds moving on in four different tournaments. Top seed Payton Jim On of Punahou lost only one game in his two matches in boys singles and teammates Tsubasa Okada and Tanner Ige did the same in boys doubles.
Elise Wong of Punahou defended her top seed in girls singles, losing only two sets. ‘Iolani duo Julia Visaya and Karli Vo swept their first three games before yielding two in a win over Rose Matsunaga and Mia Yamaguchi of Mid-Pacific.
The quarterfinals and semifinals will be held today, with the championships on Saturday.