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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Hawaii pair bounced from nationals


Advertiser Staff

Hawai'i's last two tennis players were ousted yesterday at the 2010 USTA Boys' and Girls' 18s at the Patsy T. Mink CORP Tennis Complex. The finals are today, beginning at 9 a.m.

Island Pacific Academy senior Matthew Westmoreland was two points from taking out top-seeded Eric Johnson Monday. The loss dropped him into the consolation quarterfinals.

Yesterday, the tournament's seventh seed was beaten by sixth-seeded Hunter Nicholas, 6-2, 5-7 and 10-7 in the super tiebreaker, used in third sets of consolation draws.

The tiebreaker was necessary because Westmoreland held off four match points. Nicholas was up 5-3, 40-love in the second and could not close out Westmoreland. He made another run in the super tiebreaker, scoring four straight points to go up 7-6. Nicholas rallied to win the final four, hitting three winners.

"In the beginning, mentally I was exhausted so I was lagging this morning and he was hitting some big shots," Westmoreland said. "He was blowing me off the court at first. When he was up 5-3, 40-love in the second set, I was like OK, great. Then he went for a couple big shots and he ended up missing. That gave me the momentum to come back and win the set. In the (super) tiebreaker it was just a few points here and there. At 7-6 he came up with some great shots."

Robin Kiyabu, a Punahou junior seeded 14th, fell to Daniel Faierman, 6-2, 6-3, in consolation quarters.

Johnson will play second-seeded Jamin Ball in today's boys final. Johnson swept third-seeded Even Song, 6-3, 6-2, yesterday while Ball defeated fourth-seeded Patrick Kawka, 7-6, 6-1.

The girls final will be between second-seeded Britney Sanders and eighth-seeded Jacquiline Crawford. Sanders beat 12-seeded Sylvia Li, 6-2, 6-3, in the semifinals. Crawford stopped fifth-seeded Jamie Pawid, 6-1, 7-6.