The Punahou tennis dynasty lives on, as the Buffanblu boys and girls teams claimed Carlsmith Ball/HHSAA State Tennis Championships yesterday on the Big Island.

The Punahou boys clinched their 20th consecutive state tennis title, while the girls picked up their eighth.

“;I think the thing that was even more special this year is that the competition was really, really tough this year,”; said Punahou girls head coach Bernard Gusman.

“;There were great players in all the other leagues, players like Jared Spiker and Sayo Tsukamoto from the Big Island. We were just happy to pull together, put points together, and put wins together,”; he added.

Spiker, the top-seeded boys player, fought off Matthew Westmoreland of Island Pacific Academy 7-6 (4), 6-4 in the singles championship, following a dress-code controversy that nearly ended his senior season.

The Kalani ace was initially disqualified Friday for wearing a sleeveless uniform, but the umpires appealed the decision due to overwhelming support from his family and teammates.

“;It feels amazing, 'cause yesterday I thought I was out of the tournament. After winning it 24 hours later, it's just an amazing feeling right now,”; Spiker said after winning his second state tennis title in a grueling match that lasted more than 2 hours.

“;I haven't played (Matt) for a few years. He's real steady from the baseline and kind of aggressive, but I just stayed focused, played my game, hit aggressive shots when I needed to and placed defensive shots when I needed to,”; said Spiker.

Kallen Mizuguchi and Kaito Mizutani of Waiakea High School rallied in the boys doubles final, edging past Punahou's Brandon Lee and Erik Pang 2-6, 7-6 (3), 1-0 (8).

On the girls side, Tsukamoto proved why she's the No. 1 seed with a dominant victory over Kauai's Sarah Kukino 6-3, 6-2.

Punahou's Ashley Nakaoka and Jennifer Laws pulled together for their second consecutive state doubles championship, defeating 'Iolani's Bobbi Oshiro and Kristen Poei 7-5, 6-3.