8 Hawaii teams head to nationals

Six Hawaii teams advanced to the national U.S. Tennis Association League Championships this month, winning Hawaii Pacific Section titles at the Royal Lahaina Tennis Ranch and Kapalua Tennis Gardens on Maui. Two other Oahu men’s teams, the 3.0 Breakaway team captained by Kazu Samura and the 4.5 Hawaii 5 0 team captained by Martin Black, advanced directly to nationals.

The eight teams will represent Hawaii this fall in the Palm Springs (Calif.) area and Tucson, Ariz.

The winning teams: Women — 50 Something, East Hawaii (Carolyn Lum-Bellen captain), 3.0; PrimeTime Partners, Oahu (Kathy Bommersbach), 3.5; Clock and Trophy, Oahu (Ann Nakashima), 4.0; Go Girls, Kauai (Carol Surratt), 4.5. Men — Hana Hou, Oahu (Clyde Miyasato), 3.5; KRC, Oahu (Robert Nemechek), 4.0.

4 headed to USTA Jr. team nationals

Four teams will head to the USTA Junior Team Tennis Spring Championships in South Carolina this October after winning sectionals earlier this month at CORP. The statewide event featured 46 teams and nearly 400 players between the ages of 8 and 18.

Waialae Iki V had two winning teams — White Stars in the 14-under Intermediate (3.0) Division and Gold Stars in the 18-under Advanced (Open) Division. Teams were coached by Albert Murata and Sam Chung, and Issei Funatsu and Riki Fujitani.

Wailea Tennis Club, coached by Manny Fernando and Maylyn Ikioka, won the 14-under Advanced Division. Kilauea Heat, coached by Madeleine Dreith and Barrett Won, captured the 18-under Intermediate Division.

Sportsmanship winners were Kanehoalani Kawelo, Lauren Tsai, Trinity Ung, Jonathan Jaictin, Dylan Zhang, Genki Kadomatsu, David Au, Lisa Owen, Bryson Leong, Alyssia Fossorier and Laura Okazaki. Other age-group winners: Keehi Rackets Blue and Bruce Nagel Tennis Academy in 2.5; Waialae Iki 5 in 3.0; Mililani 10s Kids, Kilauea Fire and Bob’s Mob 9 in 3.5, and; Last Chance in 4.0.

Play Days for juniors in June

There will be three tennis Play Days for juniors in June. The first two are Saturday at Kilauea District Park and Diamond Head Tennis Center. The final one is June 10 at the Patsy T. Mink CORP Tennis Complex.

Plays Days are for novices and more experienced players. Kids play short, continuous matches over a 2- to 3-hour period. They utilize the new tennis format for juniors with larger, less bouncy balls and smaller courts.

Kids 8 and under play from 9 to 11 a.m. at Kilauea. Check-in is 8:30 a.m. Cost is $10. Those 10-under are at DHTC, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (8:30 a.m. check-in). The 11-under will be at CORP from 1 to 5:30 p.m. (check-in 12:30 p.m.) and costs $15.

For information, contact Madeleine Dreith at 585-9528 or Dreith@hawaii.usta.com.