Posted on: Monday, April 21, 2003

Divide and conquer, that's strategy of Mililani tennis sisters

By Dennis Anderson
Advertiser Staff Writer

Two sets of sisters will play for the O'ahu Interscholastic Association doubles tennis championship at 3 p.m. today at Central O'ahu Regional Park.

That's not too unusual. But this is:

The sisters are not on the same teams. Jaymi Gamiao and Ashley Takara are on one team while Jena Gamiao and Audra Takara are on the other.

They all attend Mililani High and are coached by May Ann Beamer, the grand dame of Hawai'i tennis.

Why split up sisters who must know each other so well they can anticipate what each other's next move will be?

"It's hard for siblings to play together," Beamer explained.

"I have found that when sisters or brothers play each other, even in practice, they seem to pick up the challenge and compete better.

"It's like husband and wives or sons and fathers, they always try to be one up on each other. My three sons were like that, too."

Jaymi and Jena Gamiao are twins and seniors. Ashley Takara also is a senior and Audra is a sophomore.

When they came to her, the sisters had been playing together, Beamer said, "but when I split them and had them play against each other, they played so much better."

Beamer has split sister doubles teams before — Cheri and Shanelle Kaneshiro in the '80s and '90s, and Heidi and Tracy Kunichika in the '70s and '80s in juniors, for example — but she has never had four sisters at one time.

"When you have sisters on the court together, they fight all the time," Beamer said, "but what sisters and brothers don't?

"When I keep two sisters together on the same doubles team, their parents call and say don't put them together. They say the sisters have to eat at the same table and they are terrible at home.

"Jena is undefeated with whomever she plays with," Beamer said. "She has played some matches with Audra and some with Ashley," making the team of Jena Gamiao and Audra Takara the favorites today.

In singles today, defending champion Chloe Bihag of Waipahu will play Nicole Sakai of Pearl City for the girls championship and Mark Ilagan of Farrington will play Dillon Porter of Kahuku for the boys title.

The boys doubles finals will match Wataru Mino and Fuyuki Samejima of Kaiser against two brothers — on the same team — Andrew and Ryan Murakami of Leilehua.

All eight championship and third-place boys and girls singles and doubles matches will be played simultaneously at the new City and County complex off Kamehameha Highway in Waipi'o.