After two months of daily practices and matches once to twice a week, the tennis season has officially come to a close. Here is a review of their 2024 season!
This season the role of Head Coach was assumed by Britta Zimmer-Long, a Parker parent. Back in October, Coach Britta began working on organizing the practice schedule. Following her efforts to give the team ample learning opportunities, the players were able to practice at the Mauna Lani with two pros (Coach Kristina and Coach Simon) weekly Tuesdays and Thursdays and receive instruction from Coach Wayne, the pro at the Mauna Kea, on Wednesdays.
“Coach Kristina, Coach Simon, Coach Wayne and Coach CJ have been a critical part of this year's tennis season. With their words of encouragement, valuable drills, and silly games, the pros helped bring fundamental skills and most importantly a fun atmosphere back to the tennis team,” said Emily Atkins, a senior.
Moreover, Cj Brown, a Parker School alum (class of 2014) who played on the tennis team all four years, volunteered his time this season to help coach the players. “I think it’s good that his experience with varsity sports was not too long ago so he was able to bring some recent experience to the team and inspiration…” said Coach Britta.
March 30th 2024: Head Coach Britta Zimmer-Long (right) and Assistant Coach Cj Brown (left) on Senior Day (Jen Daoust).
Throughout the season Parker competed against 10 teams total. Here are the results from those matches plus some highlights:
Match Records
Kohala 2/21/24
Girls
Boys
Highlights: In Parker’s first match of the season, doubles team Jennifer Koranda and Kotryna Kalinina (both juniors) came out strong with the team’s first win. Unfortunately Kohala did not have a boys team to compete against.
@Konawaena - 2/28/24
Girls
Boys
Highlights: This match-up was very successful for Parker across the board. Jennifer Koranda and Acacia Blyth (a senior) won in a gripping third set tiebreak 10-5, a strong showing for Blyth’s debut match.
The team after their matches against Konawaena on February 28th, 2024 (Britta Zimmer-Long).
HPA - 3/6/24
Girls
Boys
Highlights: Against this local competitor Matthew Shemwell and Kaya Long (both seniors) won each of their respective matches 6-2 6-2. Moreover, Oscar (a sophomore) showed great promise in his first highschool tennis match ever, winning 5 games with his doubles partner Soren Fesel (a sophomore).
Hilo 3/9/24
Girls
Boys
Highlights: Oscar Amos and Bj Daoust, two sophomores who were brand new to tennis this season, played incredibly well against Hilo’s 2nd doubles, falling short by just 2 points after a grueling 10-point match tiebreak that had every spectator on the edge of their seats.
Kealakehe - 3/27/24
Girls
Boys
Highlights: This was another tough match-up. For the girls Kaya Long lost to the 2nd singles in an anxiety provoking third set tie-break 3-10. Jennifer Koranda and Acacia Blyth played incredibly well and won 6 games against the 2nd girls’ doubles team. Moreover, Mik Caverly (a junior) stepped in and competed in his first match ever.
Keaau - 3/30/24
Girls
Boys
Highlights: Saturday, March 30th was a busy day for the tennis team. Not only was it Parker’s Senior Day, but it was the day of prom as well. Everyone won their matches by a significant margin and after, the seniors were celebrated with a lovely ceremony.
March 30th, 2024: The tennis team celebrates the senior players on Senior Day (Jen Daoust).
Kamehameha - 4/3/24
Girls
Boys
Highlights: The girls’ team dominated against Kamehameha. Kaya Long finally won a tiebreak after losing her first two (third time’s a charm)! Moreover, Soren Fesel played singles for the second time and continued his 2-match winning streak for boys’ 2nd singles.
St. Joseph’s - 4/6/24
Girls
Boys
Highlights: The wind was merciless on the day Parker played St. Joe’s, reaching maximum speeds of 23 mph. Nevertheless, Parker persisted through the gusts and won all their matches except for one. In a 10-point 3rd set tiebreaker, after winning 5 points in a row and coming back from 4-8 to get a match point opportunity at 9-8, Kaya Long lost by just two points with a final set score of 9-11.
Waiakea - 4/9/24
Girls
Boys
Highlights: Despite what the scores may suggest, there were many strong showings against the best team on the island (they won every match-up they had all season). Most notably, Matthew Shemwell gave the first singles a run for his money. The match was much closer than it appears, as nearly every game went to duce.
@Makua Lani - 4/10/24
Girls
Boys
Highlights: Parker’s final match of the season was particularly crucial. Going into this final match-up, Parker’s girls’ team was tied with Makua Lani’s for 5th place in overall team standing out of the 11 girls’ teams on the island. It came down to the final match: Bella Carmona and Bella Wine (both freshmen) vs. Makua Lani’s 3rd girls’ doubles team. Everyone was holding their breath, but in the end the Bellas pulled through in a close 10-7 tiebreak, securing their team’s 5th place position overall.
2023-2024 BIIF Individual Championships
The BIIF tournament took place this past week between 4/18-4/20. Each match in the tournament was single round elimination and the top 6 finalists in each event (Boys' 18 & under Singles, Boys' 18 & under Doubles, Girls' 18 & under Singles, and Girls' 18 & under Doubles) qualified to compete in the state tournament. A total of 158 players entered the tournament.
It took place at Holua Racket and Paddle on all 3 Days, while the girls’ singles matches took place at the Royal Kona Resort Tennis Club on the first day due to the sheer number of matches played on the first day of the tournament.
Due to the conflict with interim this past Thursday (4/18) and Friday (4/19), only four out of the sixteen players on the team decided to compete in the tournament this year. Kaya Long, Takarrah Presley, and Siena Long entered the Girls’ 18 & under Singles event while Matthew Shemwell entered the Boys' 18 & under Singles event.
The top 8 seeded players in each event are determined prior to the tournament by the panel of coaches. All the other competitors are randomly matched up against their opponents and placed in various brackets.
April 18th, 2024: Head Coach Britta, Siena Long, Takarrah Presley, Kaya Long, Matthew Shemwell, and Assistant Coach Adam (he helped periodically throughout the season) on the first day of the BIIF tournament (from left to right) (Fumi Presley).
BIIF Results
Siena Long (CO '27)
April 18th, 2024: Round 32 (left) and Round 16 (right) Girls' 18 & under Singles bracket from tournament (USTA).
Siena Long did very well in her first BIIF tournament. Between all four players, the freshman certainly had the longest matches across the board during the tournament. She emerged triumphant after an hour and a half of play in her first match.
A couple hours later, Long gave Miyazaki, the 7th seeded player, a run for her money in the Round of 16. After an impressive performance in the first set, Long had a 4-game winning streak in the second set after being down 0-3.
Considering that she still has three more years of varsity tennis, it looks like this freshman’s future is bright.
Takarrah Presley (CO '26)
April 18th, 2024: Round 32 (left) and Round 16 (right) Girls' 18 & under Singles bracket from tournament (USTA).
Takarrah Presley strategically outplayed her opponent in the Round of 32, ceasing her opportunities to hit winners or dropshot when they presented themselves. Moreover, Presley’s serves were on fire, as she had many aces in that first match.
In the Round of 16 Takarrah certainly got the short end of the stick. She had to face the number one seeded player: Kiora Kunimoto, a junior from Waiakea who only dropped 2 games (not matches, games) all season. Nevertheless, Presley did not let up in the face of this daunting opponent and played aggressively the entire match.
“I am super grateful for all the support I have received from the players and coaches. I feel like I have become a better player and I have bonded more with my team,” said Presley. With her second year of varsity tennis in the books, this sophomore definitely has more to come in her tennis career.
Kaya Long (CO '24)
April 18th, 2024: Round 32 (left) and Round 16 (right) Girls' 18 & under Singles bracket from tournament (USTA).
Kaya Long got an unlucky draw in the Round of 32 against the 5th seed, Urumi Furuhata, a junior from Hilo. In their match earlier in the season Urumi won the first set 7-6 after winning a 7-point set tiebreak and then won the second set 6-1.
Despite her optimism going into the match, evidently the pressure got the best of Long. Following her first round win, Urumi sailed through the Round of 16, went on to beat the fourth seed–Arabella Asuncion (a junior from HPA)–in the quarterfinals and ended up getting 3rd place in the tournament overall, thus qualifying for states.
“Urumi is an incredible player so I am not disappointed that I lost. I am just disappointed that I didn’t play very well in the last match of my high school career,” said Long. Nevertheless, Long feels satisfied with her senior season and really enjoyed the low-stakes practices throughout the season, particularly the practices where she got to play with Coach Cj and Shemwell.
Matthew Shemwell (CO '24)
April 18th, 2024: Round 32 (left) and Round 16 (right) Boys' 18 & under Singles bracket from tournament (USTA).
Matthew Shemwell (not Mattey Shemwell to be clear) came out strong, crushing his opponent in the Round of 32. Unfortunately he got an unlucky draw in terms of his bracket so in the Round of 16, he went head to head with the 3rd seed–-Hunter Felte, a senior from Kealakehe.
In light of the tough competition, Shemwell certainly rose to the occasion and even won a game in the second set. He played aggressively and served well throughout the match despite the high noon sun that blinded the players on one side of the court while serving.
After the match, Felte complimented Shemwell’s serve and said that he had really improved since they played each other earlier in the season, said Shemwell. Moreover, Felte thanked Shemwell for a great match and said that the match was a lot closer than the score reflects. Felte ended up beating the 2nd seed in the semifinals and got 2nd place overall after losing to the first seed 2-6 3-6 in the final.
April 18th, 2024: Felte (left) and Shemwell (right) posing for a photo in front of the bracket board after their Round 16 match (Holly Shemwell).
All in all, it was a very successful senior season for Shemwell who persistently kept a smile on his face regardless of whether he won or lost.
Join the tennis team next season to improve your tennis abilities and get in on the fun!