HAWAI'I'S BACHELOR
Bachelor: No sparks yet!

A rose ceremony forces bachelor Kelly Komoda to do what he calls "the dreadful deed" — give seven women a rose and eliminate the other contestants. He's all smiles as he hands a rose to Brynn Leake, 29, who has at least one thing in common with him. He teaches fourth grade. She teaches fifth. To their left is Jennifer Hee, the other teacher of the bunch. Photos by Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

By Tanya Bricking
Advertiser Staff Writer

As a three-minute timer ticks down their alone time, the bachelor has a brief encounter with Lauren Sumida, a 24-year-old fashion promotion student at the University of Hawai'i. She made it to the next round.

The seven girls in the running are getting along. From left: Jenn Lee, Brynn Leake, Angela Hoan, Jennifer Hee, Jamie Inouye, Liane Kaneko and Lauren Sumida (standing).

Is it a look of "come hither" or one of backing away? Bachelorette Brooke Price tests her compatibility with the bachelor during their three-minute "speed dating" experience. But it's no love connection.

Ousted women tell all: Booted from the game before Date No. 2, Kelli Bullock, left, tells it like it is. "First impression? Not my type," she says. Fellow oustee Brooke Price has comments of her own. But they toast with champagne to good fun, anyway.

What's next? View the dating photo gallery at honoluluadvertiser.com and watch the video of the first date. Look for another online diary entry from Hawai'i's Bachelor today, where he talks about getting blasted for the way he eliminated dating contestants. And read more from the journals of his ousted dates. At the end of the second date (this weekend's beach picnic), Hawai'i's Bachelor will eliminate two more bachelorettes. Last week, he used readers' online votes to make his choice. Make your opinion heard by voting online. Our story on Date Two comes out April 18. On Monday, we'll post new online diary entries from the bachelor and the seven bachelorettes still in the game. First-date credits The Advertiser organized Hawai'i's Bachelor's first date with help from these companies: Venue: Indigo Eurasian Cuisine Flowers: Alaka'i Floral Creations

No goodnight kisses. No time yet to test the chemistry. No nonsense.

This is a game, and the competition has begun.

After Round One, Brooke Price, the redheaded preacher's daughter, is out. Kelli Bullock, the spunky blond paddler, has gone under. And Cathy Cruz, the adventurous magazine editor, has taken herself out of the running.

Bachelor Kelly Komoda spent sleepless hours before his first date planning his strategy on narrowing down his pool of 10 bachelorettes. In the end, he took advice from his mother, who didn't want him to hurt anyone's feelings.

As he sat at his computer before the date trying to memorize his dates' names, Komoda decided the most painless way to eliminate them was to leave it up to readers. So he had his sister print the results of the bachelorette online popularity poll. When it came time to hand out roses, he pulled the list out of his wallet and made his cuts from the bottom. His friends and family approved of that method in advance.

"I thought it would be the most fair way," he said. (He also thought of cutting the people who immediately said they wanted to marry him. Hmm. Nobody made that offer.)

At the risk of being branded a "mama's boy," Komoda is rethinking his tactics as he prepares for his second date this weekend. This time, he'll have to cut two more bachelorettes.

No matter how he chooses, he expects people to be talking about it.

"Either way, it's a double-edged sword," the 26-year-old elementary school teacher said. "Either way, I'm bound to get blasted."

He had an inkling his elimination system would be met with some opposition when he tried it Friday night.

Up until then, it had been a fun-filled evening. He presented each of his dates with a lei, talked to them individually in a three-minute dating game and got to know them a little over dinner in a private room at Indigo restaurant in Chinatown.

As dinner wound down, the bachelor got on his cell phone, lining up friends to meet up with him and the bachelorettes to go clubbing later. That's about the point some of his dates began to lose patience with him, especially after he left them out of the rose ceremony.

"First impression? Not my type," bachelorette Bullock said after being eliminated. "But that's not a bad thing."

Bullock, a 32-year-old executive assistant in the financial planning field, said she had a good time meeting other single women, like fellow oustee Price, an outgoing 23-year-old.

From the moment Price sat down to talk to her, her body language was either a look of "come hither" or her way of backing away from him. (See the online photo gallery to judge for yourself.) However, they made no love connection.

Komoda wasn't quick to get close to anyone. He says it's too soon to tell whether he likes any of them romantically.

It's hard to tell which of the girls has a crush on him. In a post-date confessional, some said kind things about him.

"He's definitely a good person to choose for this," said Angela Hoan, the first woman Komoda announced would go on to the next date. "He knows what to do and what to say."

After dinner, Komoda and an entourage of seven bachelorettes went on to the Mai Tai Bar at Ala Moana Center, but it was too crowded for even the "in crowd" to get in. They went on to the Ocean Club at Restaurant Row instead. Komoda acted as host, introducing his dates to his friends and Hawai'i's Bachelor runner-up Cory Mitsui.

At the end of the evening, Komoda and his dates said goodnight without even a hug. He just gave them his e-mail address and phone number.

Since the first date, he has exchanged e-mail with a few of them (fellow teachers Brynn Leake and Jennifer Hee and fellow surfer Jenn Lee), but the notes remain small talk.

Others still in the game include Hoan (a former Miss Waikiki), Jamie Inouye (who graduated from Maui High the year before Komoda), Liane Kaneko (who brought Komoda a bag of Maui potato chips on the first date) and Lauren Sumida (who shares the bachelor's love of fashion).

They will go on to Date No. 2 this weekend. It's a beach picnic that will test their kayaking skills and their ability to sink or swim. Check back with us to see how Hawai'i's Bachelor is staying afloat.

Have something to say to our bachelor? Write hawaiisbachelor@honoluluadvertiser.com.