Sukegawa, Sun win night doubles title
By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer
KAILUA — Tomoko Sukegawa and Amy Sun picked a prominent way to debut as tennis partners, winning the third annual Kailua Racquet Club Women's Night Doubles with a 4-6, 6-0, 6-3 upset over top seeds Petra Gaspar and Tagifano So'onalole Taosoga last night.
The victory gave Sukegawa, a Brigham Young-Hawai'i senior from Japan, her first professional paycheck. She earned $600, while Gaspar and So'onalole split $800. The trio helped the Cougars to their third NCAA Division II championship in four years Monday. In those four years, the Seasiders went 132-1.
Sun, who started last night's turnaround with inspired play in the middle of the first set, is a BYUH sophomore from Beijing. With eligibility remaining, she wasn't allowed to collect her paycheck.
She collected something more valuable in a victory over a team that has been all but untouchable the past three years, losing just twice this season. And, Sun was playing with a new partner. Sukegawa, from Chiba, Japan, played No. 5 singles for BYUH and Sun No. 6. They played doubles with other partners — who returned home — until this tournament started Wednesday, yet still were seeded second.
Gaspar, who will get married in July and graduate in December, came in with the most radical resume. She was the D-II Player of the Year this season, and has been an All-American all four years since leaving Budapest and a No. 165 world ranking. She was the Seasiders' No. 2 singles player, while Taosoga, from Western Samoa via a Fijian high school, was No. 4.
They lost their air of invincibility as the first set neared an end last night, but nothing can change what they accomplished the past three years together. Sukegawa, who will graduate with Taosoga next month, tearfully thanked Gaspar, Taosoga and Sun in her victory speech.
Sukegawa and Sun won the crowd over by falling behind 1-4 in the first set, as Taosoga was the only player to hold serve. Sukegawa and Sun fought back, suddenly able to avoid the rockets hit at them and stay in points long enough to frustrate Gaspar and Taosoga.
"In the beginning, I think we were a little bit tight, we wanted to win and went too far and missed a lot of shots," Sukegawa said. "In the second set we starting making the balls we were missing in the first set."
Sukegawa and Sun closed to 4-5 when they finally broke Taosoga, as she was serving for the set. Their surge took a siesta when Sukegawa — the only player other than Taosoga to hold serve — was broken to end the set. But the newly formed team — Sun hadn't played the forehand side in two years — had found their form and discovered the best way to neutralize their opponents' vicious groundstrokes was to cut them off at the net.
They blitzed the seniors in the second set, reducing Gaspar and Taosoga to launching tennis balls into the back fence. The bagel lasted just 25 minutes but the blitz was just beginning. Sukegawa and Sun ran their streak to nine consecutive games — and 12 of 14 — by winning the first three games of the decisive set.
By then, the underdog-only crowd of about 300 had transformed itself into Gaspar and Taosoga fans. The seniors attempted to will their way back into it against Sun's serve, but she fought off two break points to make it 4-0. Taosoga stopped the free-fall by winning her serve.
Sukegawa won her serve, but Taosoga and Gaspar held defeat off by taking the next two games.
Sukegawa held her serve again, and Sun finished off the 2-hour match by blasting a high return down the middle of the court.
SHORT LOBS: Hawai'i Pacific's Fleurette Miranti and Lani Matsunaga captured third place, 8-6, over state high school champions Kimi and Heidi Kaloi. Miranti, an HPU senior from Jakarta, was the only player eligible to accept money and collected $150. Miranti was also the only one in the match not from Wahiawa. ... Vanne Akagi-Bustin won the Sportsmanship Award. ... The tournament donated $2,518 to Women's Services at Castle Medical Center last night. More money will be donated, including the prize money from amateurs, when the tournament's finances are finalized. ... Petra Gaspar and Tagifano So'onalole Taosoga won the inaugural Women's Night Doubles in 2000.
