St. Francis freshman Taylor Lau defeated defending three-time state champion Alyssa Tobita of Mililani 6-1, 6-3 to win the girls singles title at the Carlsmith Ball/ HHSAA State Tennis Championships in Wailea, Maui, on Saturday.
"After it was over, I was sad for Alyssa," Lau said. "It’s always good winning, but it’s sad seeing the effects that winning can have on people because she was trying to win it four times."
Lau’s efforts, even while playing with a broken pinkie on her right (playing) hand, helped St. Francis’ girls team tie for fourth in the team standings.
Punahou won both team titles, taking the boys crown with 28 points and the girls with 12. Mililani finished second in the boys (nine points) and tied for second in the girls with Mid-Pacific, also at nine points.
Punahou’s Kawika Lam won the boys singles title, rallying to beat Hawaii Baptist’s Jeffrey Liang 6-7 (6), 6-0, 6-2. Punahou’s boys took first and third in the doubles, with Zander Kim and Jon Costales beating seventh seed Seann Esaki and Braxton Chong of Mid-Pacific 6-1, 6-0.
Punahou’s Jacob Blaisdell and Austin Hamamoto took the bronze.
In the girls doubles, Mid-Pacific’s Skyla Alcon and Cori Cummings, the second seed, defeated the top-seeded team of Sari Kwee and Kara Okazaki of ‘Iolani 6-7 (6), 7-5, 6-0.
But the day’s surprise might have been Lau’s fairly easy victory.
Lau said her game plan going in was to "stay really consistent. Consistency was the key for me."
But she said she has gained confidence with her play in junior tournaments on the mainland, where she travels five times a year.
"Out of all active juniors in Hawaii, I’m the only one who has a bronze ball in a tournament," Lau said. "If you place in a national (level 1) tournament, you get a USTA ball."
Lau, who is rated a four-star recruit and ranked 80th in her age group nationally by tennisrecruiting.net, earned her bronze ball by finishing third in a junior tournament in Mobile, Ala., in March.
She also won the USTA President’s Day Junior Section Championship in February and the Wailuku Winter Junior Sectionals in January. Lau advanced through her bracket with 6-0, 6-0 wins in her first three matches. In the semifinals, she beat ILH champion Ashley Ishimura of Punahou by winning 3-6, 6-2, (2).
Hours after her finals victory, Lau said, "Now, I finally realized I won states as a freshman. Now I feel good, I feel confident."
CARLSMITH BALL/HHSAA STATE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Wailea, Maui
Boys: 1, Punahou 28. 2, Mililani 9. 3, Mid Pacific 7. 4t, Iolani, Hawaii Baptist 6. 6t, Hawaii Prep, Kalani 4.8, Konawaena 3. 9t, Kealakehe, Maui, Seabury Hall 2. 12t, Island School, Kohala, Pearl City, Kamehameha, Parker 1.
Girls: 1, Punahou 12. 2t, Mililani, Mid-Pacific 9. 4t, St. Francis, Iolani 8. 6, Kamehameha-Maui 5. 7t, Waimea, Hilo 4. 9t, Island Pacific, Kealakehe 3. 11t, Kaiser, Roosevelt 2. 13t, Aiea, Radford, Kahuku, Hawaii Prep, Kapolei, Waiakea, Lahainaluna, Pearl City, McKinley 1.
