Kauai’s Slam Musubi 7.0 Mix captured the island’s first national tennis title Sunday. The team won the U.S. Tennis Association League Mixed Doubles championship in Tucson, Ariz.
Kauai defeated Puerto Rico in the final 3-0. It beat a team from New York City 2-1 in the semifinals after advancing from its flight.
The team captain is Michelle Fitzgerald and members are Michael Fitzgerald, Michael Henthorn, Nikki Matsumura, Rosemary Smythe, Madison Duarte, Adrian Alvarez, Shawn Morimoto, Susan Ham-Young and Ron Olen. The team plays out of Hanalei Bay Resort.
Big field for doubles
The largest field in the 12-year history of the PMAG Women’s Night Doubles is down to four teams for tonight’s semis. Two quarterfinals were played Wednesday at Kailua Racquet Club, with the last two scheduled for Thursday night.
Two-time champions Yuan Jia and Marika Kobayashi, the second-seeded team out of Brigham Young-Hawaii, held off Rebecca Faltusz and Xenia Suworowa 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 on Wednesday. The University of Hawaii team was the only unseeded one to reach the final eight.
In the other match, fourth-seeded Celina Goetti and Zora Vickova, from Hawaii Pacific, beat fifth-seeded Martina Kostalova and Barbara Pinterova, from UH, 7-6 (7-2), 6-2.
The final is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. Saturday. The tournament raffle benefits Susan G. Komen For the Cure. The event is also collecting used computers, printers and cables for free recycling.Hard drives will be taken out and shredded for security.
In an exhibition to be played at 5:30 p.m., Hawaii Triple Crown tennis champions Mikael Maata and Jan Axel Tribler will split up for a mixed doubles match.
Tobita, Dvorak honored
Mililani’s Alyssa Tobita and Waiakea’s Sarah Dvorak, who played an all-freshman state high school singles final in May, are the recipients of the Muriel Osborne Hawaii Tennis Awards.
Tobita won the state championship and captured Girls 16s at Sectionals in June. Dvorak won Girls 18s at sectionals and reached the final of the USTA Regionals last month. Tobita won the consolation title.
The $500 Osborne grants can be used for tennis travel. The program is to help fund training for ranked high school girls competing year-round who have a history of top local finishes.
Wheelchair player shines
Hawaii’s Shelby Baron became the first junior wheelchair player to compete in a USTA Junior Team Tennis Championship last month. The Punahou senior helped her 3.0 Kilauea team qualify at Hawaii Section championships in May.
The team advanced to the national event in Surprise, Ariz., with Baron competing against able-bodied players. Kilauea did not challenge for the title, but it did win the spirit banner award.
