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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, November 12, 2006

Night Doubles will have BYUH flavor

Advertiser Staff

Korinihona

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SEVENTH ANNUAL KAILUA RACQUET CLUB WOMEN'S NIGHT DOUBLES

WHAT: Professional tennis

WHERE: Kailua Racquet Club (629 Oneawa St.)

WHEN: Tuesday to Saturday, from 6 p.m.

PURSE: Approximately $2,500

2006 CHAMPIONS: Guriana Korinihona and Petra Teller

ADMISSION: Free

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Players from 10 countries and three Hawai'i islands will play in the seventh annual Lanikai Bath and Body Kailua Racquet Club Women's Night Doubles, which opens with a Pro-Am Tuesday.

A year ago, Brigham Young-Hawai'i's Guriana Korinihona and Petra Teller overcame teammates Tetyana Bula and Yulia Ustyuzhanina in the final. It was the fifth time a BYUH team won the championship.

There's a good chance this year could be the sixth that smacks of the Seasiders, who have won four of the past five NCAA Division II national titles.

Korinihona, who plays No. 1 on the Solomon Islands' Federation Cup team, is back. Her partner is another BYUH alumna, Tagifano So'onalole-Taosoga, from Western Samoa. So'onalole won the inaugural Women's Night Doubles in 2000 and reached the 2002 final.

BYUH has two other teams entered, including 2006 national doubles champions Bula and Ustyuzhanina, from the Ukraine.

Mimi Kennell, who played for the Taiwanese Fed Cup team before coming to BYU-Hawai'i, is playing with Ihilani pro Rie Yukihiro, originally from Japan. Punahou pros Kelly Chan, from the Big Island, and Kareen Ko-nishi, from Kaua'i, are teamed.

Pro Judy Weitz and Shannon Heisler are also playing, along with two Hawai'i Pacific teams.

Matches begin at 6 p.m. and 7:15 p.m., with semifinals scheduled for Friday and the final Saturday. The format is best-two-of-three sets except for Saturday's third-place match, which will be an eight-game Pro Set.

Admission is free, with food and beverages available for purchase. In its first six years, the tournament has donated more than $15,000 to Women's Services at Castle Medical Center, for the treatment of breast cancer.