Aikawa now Micro-bound

The CNMI’s hopes for a medal in women’s tennis got a huge boost yesterday as local product and University of Hawaii-Manoa tennis star Kana Aikawa announced her intentions to return to Saipan for the 6th Micronesian Games.

In an e-mail to the Saipan Tribune, Aikawa confirmed her conversation with CNMI head coach Jeff Race in which she reversed her previous decision to hone her skills on the mainland in lieu of representing the latte stone, star, and mwarmwar this summer.

“Playing for Saipan is definitely exciting for me because it is my home and I just love that place. Playing for a school is an awesome thing but playing for my island means so much more because that’s where I first picked up the game and fell in love with it,” she said.

Aikawa said that the main reason for her decision to come to Saipan for the Games, instead of hitting the highly competitive circuits on the mainland, was an e-mail from Race.

“I e-mailed him in March saying that I wasn’t going to play, and then he e-mailed me back saying to reconsider, so I did,” she said.

The only thing that would keep Aikawa from playing now is renewing her passport. The cheery student-athlete was informed that she needed to submit a new photo because the office denied her initial submission because she was smiling.

The CNMI women’s top gun said that she plans to join team practices on Saipan near the end of May, but will be training diligently at school in the meantime.

“I’ve been practicing a lot and I also entered into a tournament this weekend. I got to the finals and lost to our assistant coach, who’s going to be playing for [UH] next year. I had a few good wins on the way so I’m definitely glad I played in it,” she said.

Aikawa said that she will continue hitting the weights and the conditioning room but doesn’t plan on straying from the hard courts for very long.

“I’m going to be hitting on the ball-machine everyday at Pacific Islands Club as soon as I get back. Plus I’ll be joining the team practices to get ready for the Games,” she said.

Tennis isn’t the only thing on her mind, as she tempers running lines and chasing down shots with running around campus and chasing a return to the Dean’s List by preparing for her upcoming presentations and exams.