Isle File
Irons third, Garcia fifth in Rip Curl

Advertiser Staff

Andy Irons of Kaua'i tied for third place and Sunny Garcia of Wai'anae tied for fifth on the final day of the Rip Curl Pro yesterday in 3- to 5-foot waves at Bell's Beach, Australia.

Irons and Garcia were both eliminated yesterday by Australia's Daniel Wills. Another Australian, Mick Fanning, then defeated Wills in the final. Fanning earned $30,000 for winning the first contest on the 2001 World Championship Tour.

Garcia, the defending world champion who was surfing with a partially torn ligament in his right knee, was defeated in the quarterfinals by the narrow margin of 20.9-20.7.

Irons defeated California's C.J. Hobgood in the quarterfinals, then came up two points short against Wills in the semifinals. Irons received $10,000, while Garcia earned $8,000.

SOFTBALL

• Hilo sweeps HPU: University of Hawai'i-Hilo swept Hawai'i Pacific, 7-0 and 3-2, yesterday in a Pacific West Conference doubleheader at Hilo.

In the first game, the Vulcans scored all of their runs in the third inning, highlighted by Nancy Vega's three-run homer. In the second game, Vega singled in the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Hilo is 25-17, 12-8 in the PacWest. HPU is 31-13 and 16-6.

QUARTERBACK CLUB

• UH's Lempa to speak: University of Hawai'i football defensive coordinator Kevin Lempa will be the featured speaker at the Honolulu Quarterback Club today at the Pagoda International Ballroom.

Also speaking will be UH offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh, KGMB-TV sports reporter Liz Chun, and the club's male athlete for the month for March, Hawai'i basketball player Carl English.

Lunch starts at 11:30 a.m., followed by the program at noon.