Beginning & End: Powell, Fernando Earn Top Honors | News, Sports, Jobs

Seabury Hall’s Nikki Fernando capped off her high school career last month with a MIL singles title and a third-place finish in the state championships. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER Photos

While Seabury Hall senior Nikki Fernando is finishing her high school tennis career with honors, Baldwin freshman Justin Powell is just getting started.

The Maui Interscholastic League tennis singles champions, who were also the top Maui individual finishers at the May state tournament, are The Maui News’ MIL Tennis Player of the Year.

“It means so much to come out of a successful season and have this label that has all paid off.” said Fernando, who finished third in the HMSA/HHSAA State Tennis Championships at the Royal Lahaina Tennis Ranch last month. “It really puts a label on everything I’ve built and I feel like I’m on top of the world, you know, and having so much support from everyone and even telling people I’m player of the year is easy so rewarding and shows that all the hours of practice and coming early and staying a bit are worth it.

Powell, who also led the Baldwin boys to an MIL team title that season, won his first- and second-round matches at the state tournament to qualify for the quarterfinals — the furthest a MIL boy went that year achieved – before losing to eventual champion Payton Jim On of Punahou.

“It’s a great honor to be selected for this award as there are a lot of good players on Maui,” Powell said by phone Tuesday while he was in Southern California where he attends the Weil Tennis Academy.

Justin Powell helped lead the Baldwin boys to an MIL team title and later won the MIL singles title before reaching the state quarterfinals to end his freshman season.

Chosen by the league’s coaches, Maui High coach Michele Luna was named MIL Girls Coach of the Year, while Baldwin coach Wayne Feike was named MIL Boys Coach of the Year after winning their respective teams at the MIL Championships in April titles.

On the last official day of classes for Seabury students in May, Fernando and her older friends discussed their last school lessons.

“It’s so different not training anymore, just seeing my former teammates in the halls and stuff like that, and today I was like asking my friends, ‘Did it hit you?’ and they asked me the same thing.” she said over the phone last month. “I think it’s going to hit me when I’m driving home from school and I realize it’s like my last time, so it hasn’t hit me yet, but it will be soon.”

Like Powell, Fernando was a standout freshman. She was a 2019 MIL runner-up and state quarterfinalist before her sophomore and junior seasons were wiped out by the pandemic.

Heading to the University of Rhode Island in the fall, Fernando looks forward to receiving full-time NCAA Division I training and pursuing tennis “I’ve wanted to for so long” as well as bonding with their new teammates and playing in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

“Tennis is such an independent sport and I was very independent with it even before I was in high school. I think the biggest lesson I’ve learned is that winning is always the most important thing you want, but I think I’ve learned that winning can be in the memories and relationships you build with people.” She said. “I’m going to take that to college because no matter how good or bad my team does, it’s just going to be cool to do it with them, and that’s definitely how it felt this year coming back from the lost seasons, so I’ll take that with me.”

Fernando will be joined on the MIL Girls All-Star team by Seabury teammate Alexa de Crinis. Hie Luna-Beamer from Maui High, Jordyn Luna, Erica Gumboc and Sophia Kato; Paula Esteve Rodriguez of King Kekaulike; and Kamehameha Maui’s Beryl Lau.

Powell will be joined on the MIL boys’ all-star team by Bears teammates Ean Allencastre-Higuchi and Kai Matsui. Seabury Hall’s Manoli Placourakis; Chris Mueller of Lahainaluna; Indi Petrone and Alex Ferayorni of Kihei Charter; and Hanas Alexander Smith.

Powell’s favorite part about his freshman year was “Watching my teammates in the clutch match for the MIL title, playing against a variety of players from different schools and being part of a team atmosphere.”

Though Powell is still early in his prep career, tennis is no stranger. He started playing when he was 6 years old and said he likes this sport because “I love to compete.”

“Competition is an important part of my motivation to play, as is my love of the sport and a supportive father, coach.” he said.

As a sophomore, he hopes to be further away from his goal of becoming a national champion in singles.

“Teamwork, hard work and good preparation are the ingredients for success”, he said.

* Dakota Grossman can be reached at [email protected].