Kana coaches HS team to Hawaii golf championships

CNMI tennis great Kana Aikawa is making a name for herself coaching golf in Hawaii after mentoring a bunch of teenagers to a high school varsity state championship.

The 27-year-old Aikawa, the coach for the ‘Iolani School girls varsity golf team, helped the Lady Raiders win the HHSAA Championships earlier this month at the Wailua Golf Course in Lihue in Kaua‘i.

The team was made up of one senior and four freshmen—Marissa Chow, Rose Huang, Hana Furuichi, Keilyn Ing, and Ayumi Sakamoto—and finished seven strokes ahead of Punahou to take home the state championships.

Punahou won the previous five state titles, while the title was ‘Iolani’s first state title in girls golf.

The Lady Raiders also captured the ILH championship earlier this season, another first in school history.

Aikawa, who played NCAA Division II golf and tennis for University of Hawaii-Manoa, said coaching the team to the championship was an amazing experience.

“I met the girls in February and we set up our goals for this season: winning the ILH (private schools league) and the state championship. Iolani School has never in its history won either one, so to win both of those titles was very thrilling. We couldn’t have asked for a better season. I have an amazing team of girls who are all not only talented but such disciplined athletes,” she said in an email to the Saipan Tribune.

The Northern Marianas Academy alumnus, who now works for John Hancock Financial Network, said her coaching philosophy has remained the same, which is always to promote playing as a team.

“Even though both golf and tennis are individual sports, having played tennis for the CNMI and UH-Manoa has taught me that there is nothing more rewarding than winning as a team. Whenever I played for the CNMI in the Micronesian Games or the Pacific Games, there was so much love and support from Jeff [Race], our coach and captain, and our teammates that you get this strong desire to win for team and for the CNMI,” she said.

Aikawa said team spirit was one of factors that helped the Iolani girls varsity win the private schools and the state championships.

“I sincerely believe that one factor in our success this season was the fact that there is such a strong bond between the girls and they battled as a team. I feel so lucky to have been a part of that family. I have a lot of passion and love for competing and coaching and I hope to keep doing both as long as I can,” she said.

Aikawa won a number of girls and women’s open championships in the CNMI, including four straight 18-and-under girls singles titles in the CNMI Junior Tennis Championships

She also helped the CNMI win a bevy of medals in the Micronesian Games and Pacific Games. She got her start in tennis under former Pacific Oceania Davis Cup team captain Jeff Race.

The daughter of Yasuko and Kiyoshi of Tokyo, Japan, Aikawa was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada but was raised on Saipan where she honed her tennis skills. She has a brother, Kei.