There were no banners, no signs and certainly there was no hype.

The Roosevelt girls judo team won the state championship last year. On Saturday, the Rough Riders modestly steamrolled through two more wins during Oahu Interscholastic Association East Division competition at Kaimuki High School.

Leading the way were their two returning state champions, Macy Higa and Menjam Tamang. Higa, the 109-pound HHSAA champion, bumped up to 115 this spring. She won her lone match on Saturday by ippon with uchimata, and remains unbeaten in her new weight class.

“I had a chance to cut down (to 109), but I feel stronger at 115,” Higa said.

She still laments her lone loss this year to Netania Kang of Pearl City. Higa moved up to 122 for that preseason matchup. It gave her a chance to test out the work she’s put in.

“I’m just working on improving my timing on my foot sweeps (de ashi and kouchi gari). My main throw is still the same as last year (uchimata),” said Higa, who won the girls 112 wrestling state crown in February. She plays judo for Hodokan Judo Club.

“I been doing judo since I was 8 years old. Even though I’ve grown to love wrestling, I still love judo a lot. It always feels like something I was meant to do. My brothers Maxwell, Ezekiel do it, too,” Higa said.

Tamang remained unbeaten in seven matches with two more wins on Saturday.

“I work on kouchi and any hip throws,” she said. “I just try to improve the throws I’m comfortable with.”

She and Higa have their share of battles at practice.

“It’s pretty intense. We try to help each other get better and make sure everybody gets better, so we go hard,” Tamang said.

They also got battles on the mat from their coaches, including Elisha Lum. Last year, the Rough Riders girls snuck up a bit on everyone at states.

“Yes, of course there’s pressure from yourself. You want to defend your title. I feel like the pressure, it’s more you don’t want to disappoint anybody,” said Tamang, who plays for Makiki Seidokan.

She credits head coach Ryan Shimokawa for a successful style of leadership.

“He understands how our mind-sets work. He’s not a traditional coach. He has a different way of coaching,” she said. “When he says stuff it actually makes sense.”