HONOLULU – The building continues for the Chaminade University women's tennis team.
Four members from the 2018 squad return including their top three singles players while a key member from the 2017 team is also back.
The Silverswords open their 2019 season this Friday against Division III power Linfield at the Jarand M.Y. Iwase Tennis Complex at Patsy T. Mink Central O'ahu Regional Park starting at 10 a.m.
Catrina Liner (Corvallis, Ore./Corvallis) saw six matches in No. 1 singles while
Salamasina Te`i (Hau'ula, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Kahuku) played five at No. 2 and two the 1 spot in Liner's absence. The pair is also the Silverswords' top doubles team.
Cai Yan Fang (Zhongshan, China/McKinley) and
Elyssa Shirai (Waipahu, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Pearl City) are interchangeable at the third and fourth singles position. Both juniors played three matches at No. 3 and four at No. 4.
The 'Swords also get a boost with the return of
Tomomi Kohno (Tokyo, Japan/McKinley) who played in all 15 matches for Chaminade in the 2017 season but sat out last year. She played 10 matches at No. 3 singles and four in fourth. She and Fang were doubles partners not only during their freshmen seasons but also at their alma mater at McKinley High School.
The roster is also bolstered by several additions from other Chaminade sports.
Rachel Arakawa (Kaneohe, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Kaiser),
Cailla Fabro (Waipahu, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Pearl City),
Caitlin Tatemichi (Honolulu/Roosevelt) and
Kirstin Wong (Laguna Niguel, Calif./Aliso Niguel) from the women's soccer team have joined the squad. A fifth member,
Nicole Nishiki (Mililani, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Mililani), will join them when she is medically cleared after a severe ankle injury ended her season on Oct. 13.
A plus for the 'Swords is playing most of their home matches at Ala Moana Beach Park. In previous years, the team had to make the 20-mile trek halfway across the island to Patsy T. Mink Central O'ahu Regional Park in Waipahu. Their new home venue is just three miles away from campus.
Following the 'Swords' opener against Linfield, they will travel to the Big Island for the Holua Invitational from Feb. 16 to 18 where they have two matches against Hawai'i Hilo and another versus Holy Names.
After a March 11 date against the University of Tampa, the Silverswords will have a pair of two-match series against Mills College and the College of Idaho in mid-March. Chaminade will end the season with two contests against UH Hilo followed by its season-finale against Division II power Hawai'i Pacific University, the only meeting between the two this season.
