Working and winning

Kawika Lam’s praiseworthy streak continues. Simply put, the Punahou senior tennis player doesn’t lose to Hawaii competition, and that type of dominance is certainly good news for the University of Washington, where he will play tennis.

There’s better news.

"He’s nowhere near his potential," said Buffanblu coach Rusty Komori, who knows a thing or two about the sport, having led his boys team to the past 21 of the school’s 24 straight state championships. "He’s there before school on the practice court sometimes. He’s there at practice after school. He puts in the time and that makes a difference. He’s a very serious player."

Last week, Lam won his third straight ILH singles championship. He’ll try for his third singles title in the Carlsmith Ball/HHSAA Hawaii Tennis State Championships, May 7-9 at Patsy T. Mink Central Oahu Regional Park.

If you include his freshman season, when he competed in doubles, Lam is a four-time ILH champ and will be going for his fourth overall state title as well.

Bill Bartlett of Punahou, from 1975 to ’77, is the only Hawaii player to win three singles championships in a row.

Lam started playing tennis when he was 3, began noticing that he was getting good and winning more at 12 and decided to focus on tennis instead of other sports at 14. He used to compete in basketball, baseball and volleyball.

An hour after Lam’s ILH victory last week, Komori said, "He doesn’t win that today. Two months ago, three months ago, that’s when he wins it. That’s when he puts the work in, preparing. He is committed."

The Huskies were an easy college choice for Lam, who visited the Seattle campus in September.

"I loved it so much," he said. "The facilities, the big-school atmosphere and the college environment, and it’s in a great place like Seattle."

More competition is also something Lam is looking forward to.

"Tennis is not as big here as it is on the mainland," he said. "Southern California, for instance, has about 50 great players (in Lam’s age range) and here there are about five."

Lam has a business-like demeanor and he’s been impressed watching the rise of world No. 1 Novak Djokovic.

"He used to be kind of a head case and then he went on a tear," Lam said. "I like his all-around game. He’s like a machine and he never puts on the brakes."

No brakes. Sounds familiar. Lam’s last singles loss in Hawaii, high school or otherwise, came the summer before his sophomore year.

"He’s tough — physically, mentally and emotionally," Komori said about the player who he affectionately calls Kawiks (pronounced "Kaveeks"). "He has learned to control his internal climate very well the last few years. He thrives when opposing players are at their best. He loves that challenge. He loves to put it on the line, and that’s the mark of a true champion."

Lam, the son of Michele and David Lam, will work on continuing to improve to see how far his work ethic (he practices six days a week for two hours a day) takes him.

"This (the ILH championship and the upcoming states) is not the end for me," he said. "I don’t really compare myself to anyone, but rather do what I can do."

Soft-spoken in conversation, somewhat fiery on the court (he’ll yell "Let’s go!" to himself after big points), Lam takes his co-captain job seriously.

"He is a great team player," Komori said. "Sometimes during his matches, he’ll be cheering on the other players on the team on another court. That gets me nervous because he should be concentrating on his own match."

As for yelling to himself, Lam said, "I do it because I want to stay away from being zombie-like. And it’s also about positivity, a reminder to keep that positive vibe. Emotions can be a hard thing to handle. I’m working on it. Competition can bring out all kinds of emotions. I want to be businesslike and keep my head focused."

But no matter how emotional he gets, Lam doesn’t throw his racket.

"My dad (who is also his coach) would kill me," he said.

THE TOP 10

Voted on by coaches and media from statewide. First-place votes in parentheses. Ten points for first-place votes, nine for second, etc.