Soft Tennis: McKinley Seizes Victory for Both Soft Tennis Boys and Girls

Sharon Washio, freelancer

On September 28, the OIA championships for soft tennis was held at Kaiser High School. McKinley’s girl soft tennis team came in as East #1 for girls. with boys as East #2 for boys.

In the semifinals, the McKinley girls played against West #2 for girls, Campbell High School, with a victorious win of 2-0. Likewise, the McKinley boys played against West #1 for boys, Aiea High School, with another win of 2-0. This led both teams into qualifying for the final round.

In the finals, the girls played against Kaiser High School, and won 2-1, succeeding in claiming the girl soft tennis OIA champions title for McKinley this year.

As for the boys, there was a moment where everyone held their breaths in an atmosphere full of tension and anticipation. Both teams had a win each, and it came down to the deciding match between the second doubles players of Kalani and McKinley. The second doubles pair for McKinley was Richard Hong (12) and Yuki Sugawa (11). In spite of the pressuring situation, both boys pulled through and with encouraging support towards each other and from their teammates, they successfully won the match with a score of 5-2.

Last  year, the boys were OIA soft champions, but the girls were runner-ups. This year, the boys were able to defend their title, and the girls have avenged their previous loss.