The Southsider Voice
Visit us at these places!
  • Home
  • News
    • Top Stories
    • Sports
    • Car Nutz
    • Stilley Goes Trackside
    • Southside Deaths
    • Personal Recollections
    • Reminiscing
  • About the Voice
  • Advertising
  • Contact
  • Newspaper Archive
  • Classifieds

Sisters dominate tennis court

6/4/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
Jade Kawamoto
PictureJackie Kawamoto
By Nathan Pace
Southsider Voice correspondent

A sibling rivalry has turned two tennis players at Greenwood High School into the most dominant players in the area. Jade and Jackie Kawamoto have not lost a match this season, an achievement they have accomplished before.


“I’ve only lost one match,” Jackie said about her career at Greenwood.
Greenwood is headed back to the state finals after defeating Terre Haute North 3-2 Saturday at the Center Grove Regional. The Kawamoto sisters won their matches to give their team two big points. The Woodmen won the third and deciding point by taking two of the three doubles matches.


Jackie played No. 1 singles at Greenwood for the past two seasons and won the state championship in 2013 as a junior. Jade had a perfect season at No. 2 singles and has never lost a match at Greenwood. This created a situation of Jackie stepping down to No. 2 singles to allow Jade a shot at the title her senior year. It was a move that Jackie was not comfortable making at first.


“It was a pretty tough decision because I wanted to defend my title,” Jackie said. “But she had to play No. 2 the past two years so I decided to give her a shot.”


With the sisters anchoring the singles slots, Greenwood had little trouble defending its sectional and regional championships. Both sisters defeated their Shelbyville opponents 6-0, 6-0 in regional action May 28. 
They are seen as automatic wins as the Greenwood athletic department’s Twitter account tweeted, “Jade and Jackie have won at 1 & 2 singles, who will get the third point?”


The sisters credit their success in part to having a practice partner who cannot be duplicated anywhere else – a twin sister who is as competitive and as talented as the other.


“It’s been nice having someone my age and my competitive level playing with,” Jade said. “Because I always have that good partner to hit with, and it keeps me focused.”


Greenwood made it to the state finals last season but lost in the quarterfinals, a mark the sisters believe that can be improved on. Jade is confident that she can keep her undefeated streak alive, even on the biggest stage of high school tennis. Greenwood will face Park Tudor at 3 p.m. Friday in the first round at Center Grove.
“I’ve become a more rounded player,” Jade said. “I try to stay focus and not get frustrated and keep my cool.”


Jade and Jackie are the youngest siblings in a family with a strong tennis tradition. Their older sister, Lisa, played at the University of Evansville, and their older brother, Dane, played at Franklin College. Unlike their siblings, Jade and Jackie will be leaving Indiana to attend the University of Dayton.


“Jade committed there before I did.” Jackie said. “I was still deciding between a couple of schools, but ultimately I decided to join her. Eastern Illinois was on my mind. We kind of jumped on Dayton kind of early.”
Despite their long list of accolades, they were not recruited by Big Ten schools like Indiana and Purdue, which typically recruit players overseas, but Jade and Jackie have that covered. The Kawamoto family moved from Lahaina, Hawaii, to the Southside in 2004, when Jade and Jackie were third-graders.


“In Hawaii we could play year round,” Jackie said. “Here it’s whenever the weather is nice.”
Once they get to Dayton, Jade and Jackie will be able to play doubles and singles. As mirror twins, the Kawamoto sisters have a couple of advantages in doubles.


“It’s kind of nice that she’s a lefty and I’m a righty, so we can both use our forehand side.” Jackie said. “It’s really easy to communicate with your sister because you can yell at her anytime.”

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    July 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014

    Categories

    All
    Arts & Entertainment
    Lead Story
    Sports: 500
    Sports: Basketball
    Sports: Track

    RSS Feed

 DROP OFF: The Toy Drop 6025 Madison Ave., Suite D
Indianapolis, IN  46227  |  317-781-0023
MAILING ADDRESS: P.O. Box 17187, Indianapolis, IN 46217

ads@southsidervoice.com | news@southsidervoice.com
Website by IndyTeleData, Inc.