No drama. No panic. And no more waiting for the Kaiser water polo team.
The Cougars ended the reign of nine-time defending Oahu Interscholastic Association champion Kahuku in convincing fashion, 8-3, to claim their school’s first championship in the sport on Saturday afternoon at Central Oahu Regional Park.
Kaiser’s humble, 40-year coach in swimming sports, Asa Tanaka, received a celebratory toss in the pool that he was reluctant to take but his team was more than willing to give.
“Well, these players that I’ve had, the seniors I’ve had for four years, it was so gratifying to me that they finally get a prize that we’ve been seeking for so long,” said Tanaka, whose team was turned away 9-6 by Kahuku in last year’s OIA final.
Kaiser had experience (10 seniors), chemistry and an overflow of swimming ability. It was apparent from the opening sprint for the ball to the very last scramble on a tipped pass. Almost always, a blue cap got there first. Kaiser is the first school to sweep OIA titles in swimming and diving and water polo in the same school year.
“Their swimming ability is no doubt what will carry us whenever anything else fails,” Tanaka said. “And basically, too, they like each other.”
The Cougars went unbeaten through the league regular season and thumped Mililani and Kapolei by twin scores of 10-2 to reach the final.
Kanoko Niimura, Kaiser’s strongest player, capped a stellar run through the tournament with a four-goal performance, giving her 10 in three days. Sarah Lorenzo added a pair and Noelle Nakakura and Erin Patterson chipped in scores.
“It felt like just a regular game. And I think that’s why we were able to pull through,” said Niimura, whose finest play might’ve been her second-quarter pinpoint assist ahead to Lorenzo for a counterattack goal. “Our issue was always, we panic on big games.”
The reversal of fortunes was jarring. And it was too much for an uncharacteristically young and inexperienced Kahuku squad to overcome. Entering the season, Roosevelt’s interruption in 2009 was the only reason the Red Raiders hadn’t won all 16 OIA titles.
“They’re a really fast team, and add in … ball-handling skills, and they did really well all season, so they deserved it,” Kahuku coach Gina Ahue said. “We’re just grateful that we were able to get to this point in the (title) game.”
Fourteen Kaiser shots were saved. Others sailed high or wide. The quantity of looks began to take its toll in the third quarter, when Niimura scored three times to open up a 7-1 lead.
“We’re known to be a second-half team,” Niimura said. “First half, our issue is, I think we’re a swimming team, so we all kind of panic and we all kind of swim too much and drive too much. And then we all clutter and it never works out well. But then this time, the second half, we get tired, and when we get tired, we’re able to start playing smarter, not harder.”
Meanwhile, Kahuku was disrupted on nearly every possession. The Red Raiders got off nine shots, scoring on deep heaves from Siitia Cravens and Jade Paranhos-Lopes. Cravens added a score on a penalty shot in the fourth quarter.
“Our plan was to control the counterattack, because I felt like that was their strong suit,” Ahue said. “As well as monitoring their drives, because they’re a swimming team; they like to swim. So I felt like if we controlled that, then we’d be OK. Unfortunately we couldn’t. … We learned a lot. I have a lot of starting freshmen, sophomores. Next year, we’ll be here.”
