Isle File
Sardinha will sign Yanks deal in Florida
Advertiser Staff
Bronson "Bully" Sardinha, the highest Hawai'i high school draft pick, will leave for Tampa, Fla., either Monday or Tuesday to sign with the New York Yankees, he said yesterday.
Sardinha, 18, an all-state infielder the last two years, was the 34th overall selection by the defending World Champion Yankees, who wanted to do the signing at their training facility in Tampa. The Yankees have already given him some guidelines.
"I have to try to stay away from anything not related to baseball," he said. "They told me, 'Don't get hurt.'"
In other words, he can't go surfing before heading out.
"They told my dad, 'Don't bean him,'" joked Sardinha, whose father, Dexter, has pitched batting practice to his sons.
Sardinha said he is satisfied with the $1 million bonus agreement.
"I'm fine with the million," he said. "I can work from there. I could've waited to see (what other signees get), but I want to get started now."
His brother, Duke, a red-shirt sophomore at Pepperdine, was picked in the 41st round by Colorado. An injury forced him to miss most of the past season and he is expected to return to Pepperdine.
SURFING
• OP Pro set: Hawai'i surfers Shane Dorian, Bruce and Andy Irons, Rochelle Ballard and Keala Kennelly are among 10 surfers competing in the 2001 OP Pro, a unique event with competitors taken by boat to isolated surfing spots.
The contest, June 11-23, features a purse of $127,500 and will take place within Indonesia's Mentawai Islands.
"Who could have known that this forgotten island chain would offer waves with symmetry and shape that every surfer dreams of," said Sam George, Surfer magazine editor and event co-director.
The competition will follow a "Survivor" format in which one surfer is eliminated each day.
First prize for men is $30,000 with the women battling for $20,000 and $2,500 per heat. All competitors will receive a $5,000 appearance fee.
Surfers will be in four vessels that will use satellite-forecasting equipment to search for what has been called the best, most challenging waves in the world.
• Finals set: The Hawai'i Amateur Surfing Association State Championship opened yesterday in 1- to 2-foot surf at Kewalo Basin.
Sena Seramur of Kaua'i won three of her heats in a field of 52 girls. Joining Seramur in the finals were Kristin Quizon, Chantel Navarro and Miku Uemura.
Advancing to the junior division finals were Dustin Quizon, Wiki Villa, Ian Walsh and Cheyne Magnusson.
The event continues today with boys and menehune shortboard, boys bodyboarding and menehune longboarding. Finals are scheduled for tomorrow.
SAILING
• Hawai'i seventh: The University of Hawai'i co-ed sailing team completed its season with a seventh place finish at the Inter-collegiate Sailing Association Ronstan North American Dinghy Championships on the Charles River in Cambridge, Mass., yesterday.
Tufts University won the three-day, 18-race regatta with 215 points, followed by Harvard with 217 and Dartmouth with 220. Hawai'i scored 258 points.
Senior skippers Molly O'Bryan and Josh Henrich with crews of sophomore Sarah Hitchcock and freshman Ann Feeley-Summerl scored 148 points and a ninth place finish in A division. Senior skipper Brent Harrill and freshman crew member Jennifer Warnock were third in the B division with 110 points.
O'Bryan was named to the ICSA/Ronstan Women's All-America sailing team.
