There is a place for the musically inclined, tennis-playing, valedictorian candidate.

A home away from home where it is cool to get good grades, take multiple Advanced Placement courses and, from time to time, just go crazy with like-minded athletic bookworms.

Power. To. The. Nerds.

“My main goal in high school is to become a valedictorian,” Dale Emoto said.

That’s not a common goal, but it is even less of a feat for someone who travels with the school wind ensemble (Indianapolis) and tennis club (California) and is mastering the alto and soprano saxophones. For Emoto, a junior, being a key part of a Kalani tennis team on the rise is more of an activity than a desperate need.

The valedictorian dream? That would be closer to a craving. She knows there are schoolmates with preposterously high grade-point averages. Emoto has a 4.1 GPA. She has friends whose GPA needle ticks toward 4.4 and 4.5.

“Some of them are like me. They have a lot of stuff on their plate, even busier than I am. One girl does multiple sports and she probably has a higher GPA than I do,” she said.

In a world of all-eggs-in-one-basket childhoods, Emoto went the other way. She took to the saxophone as a 6-year-old. Mom (Lori) played the flute in high school and college (Hawaii), where she met Douglas, also a band member. But Dale took to the sax immediately and hasn’t stopped.

Falcons tennis coach Kelli Ann Kobayashi doesn’t frown one bit about her players’ multiple interests. In fact, as a former Kalani band player and mock trial team member, she encourages a balanced diet of interests outside of sports for all 10 of the players on her girls squad.

Emoto has long realized the unique culture and flexibility of the world she lives in. A life of tennis, tennis and more tennis would not have worked.

“I’d be lazy and I wouldn’t have the self-motivation with homework and studying. I feel like I would have different friends, too. A lot of my friends are from band, and they have a huge influence in my life. They’re very supportive, they’re smart and they don’t do bad things,” she said.

That doesn’t exactly mean that the Falcons spend practice time treating the game like a casual social activity. The social part is the glue, but they go after it with a quiet tenacity on the three courts on the back side of the campus.

“Dale’s very talented and she’s gone to states multiple times,” Kobayashi said.

Two seasons ago as a freshman at the Carlsmith Ball/HHSAA State Championships, Emoto was ousted in the opening round by top-seeded Taylor Lau of St. Francis, the eventual runner-up.

Last spring, as a sophomore, Emoto was unseeded. She defeated Jessica Pressman of Baldwin 6-2, 6-3 before falling to No. 4 seed Alyssia Fossorier of Punahou. Fossorier later upset No. 1 seed Emily Soares of Hilo before losing in the final to Lau.

Divisional and postseason play are on the horizon, but Kobayashi enjoys seeing her players excel near and far. When the school wind ensemble passed the audition and went to Indianapolis for a concert in March, she gave her full blessing.

“I was just like them when I was young,” said Kobayashi, one of the state’s youngest head coaches at 21. Her brother, Cody, 20, is the boys head coach.

“A lot of them are in leadership, so they miss practice because of internships or work. They’re really well-rounded kids. It’s good that they do different things. We try not to pressure them.”

In fact, three Falcons were gone for the weekend to perform with the school orchestra in New York. They will return today — one day before the divisional championships. In all, 11 of the 23 players on the girls and boys teams play music.

For Emoto, the composure and energy required to play the saxophone merges with her game on the court. It is, in some ways, a bridge to her favorite subject, math.

“Repetition is very important. You want that muscle memory. Playing the saxophone, your fingers get used to the rhythm. Each time you play, it’s not as hard as the last time. The same goes for tennis, the same strokes over and over again. You get muscle memory and become more consistent,” she said.

Emoto is already preparing for college with her AP classes in biology, psychology and English. She has her heart set on medicine or biology. When her older sister, Lee, was 7, she had the first of nine surgeries for scoliosis. Four years younger, Dale saw day by day what doctors do.

“Seeing how the doctors helped her so much in her early years, I kind of want to be with them,” she said.

Lee is a college student today, showing no effects of her condition or the operations.

“I used to wonder, ‘Why her?’ Now, we know she’s going to be OK. I don’t know if it’s a miracle. I don’t know how to explain it,” Dale said. “She’s all good now.”

So is Dale. She gets the push from mom now and then, but most of her drive is from within. The only thing she can’t seem to master?

“I’m in Girl Scouts. The Gold Award, it’s like our version of the Eagle Scout,” she said. “I’m not even close to getting it.”

DALE EMOTO

>> Kalani tennis

>> Junior

Q&A / Favorites

>> Athlete: Roger Federer “I think he has good sportsmanship. I really like his playing style, his one-handed backhand. And the fact that he’s cool-headed. He doesn’t get angry.”

>> Hobby outside of sports: “Playing the alto saxophone.” When told her mom says she’s one of the top sax players in the state, she responds, “I don’t know about top, but I work hard and practice. I try to get first seat. I wouldn’t say I’m the top, though.”

>> Movie: “Beauty and the Beast” — “I like the original.” Of the recent live-action remake, she says: “It’s OK. The original, the plot, the way it develops is better. The voices are the characters fit the musical features. Gaston has a lower voice and fits him more than the second one.”

>> TV show: None — “There’s just nothing good on.”

>> Video game: None — “I don’t play. I haven’t played since elementary school.”

>> Music artist: Bruno Mars — “I really like his style, and he’s a really good dancer, too. Him at the Super Bowl halftime show was really good.”

>> GPA: 4.1 — “I just stay up really late doing my schoolwork. I don’t really go out with friends because of homework.” On her college decision: “I’m not sure yet. I’m hoping to (go to a) mainland college and come back and apply for the John Burns School of Medicine.”

>> Motto/scripture: “Hard work pays off” — “Some parents are afraid to challenge their kids. She (mother) pushes me because she knows I can do it. She wouldn’t push me if she knew I couldn’t do something.”

>> How does your tennis affect your daily life during the season and offseason? “It’s only during the season, tennis is really crazy.”

>> What do you like to do — or what’s something else you’re good at — that would surprise most people? “Playing the alto and soprano saxophone.”

>> What is your ultimate dream/bucket list? “I would like to work in the health field (maybe a doctor) and travel around the world.”