Posted on: Thursday, March 15, 2001
BYUH tennis teams holding court all week
By Michael Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
Brigham Young-Hawai'i tennis coach Dave Porter's take-on-all-comers scheduling has the Seasider men's and women's teams reeling with a mutant strain of March Madness this week.
With yesterday's marathon doubleheader against West Liberty and Austin Peay, the BYUH women have played four matches in three days with three more matches lined up through Saturday.
The BYUH men have it slightly easier. They play six matches in six consecutive days this week.
"We try to play all the teams that come through here," Porter said. "It's not always easy to get matches in (NCAA) Division II. You don't want to turn anybody down."
The BYUH women entered the week with a 79-match win streak. They beat Division 1 Montana State, 9-0, on Monday, and Presbyterian College, 8-1, on Tuesday.
They face Armstrong Atlantic today at 2 p.m., Utah State tomorrow at 2 p.m. and Stephen F. Austin on Saturday at 10 a.m.
The men also started their week with wins over Montana State (7-2) and Presbyterian (8-1). They play Armstrong Atlantic at 2 p.m. today, Utah State at 2 p.m. tomorrow and Ouachita Baptist at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
Montana State, Austin Peay, Utah State and Stephen F. Austin all compete in Division 1.
Considering each dual match is comprised of six singles matches and three doubles matches-and most players play both singles and doubles-a day like yesterday can be long, indeed. By the time the week is over, three or four of the women's players will have played all 14 possible matches, Porter said.
"There isn't much you can do to keep the players fresh," Porter said. " It's tough, mentally and physically. We just try to get them as much rest as possible."
SOFTBALL • Hitting the road: All four Hawai'i small college teams are heading to the Mainland next week to compete in the CSU Hayward Invitational Softball Tournament, which runs March 23-25.
As part of their only out-of-state trip this season, the schools have also scheduled games before or after the tournament.
Hawai'i-Hilo, BYUH and Chaminade are leaving early. UH-Hilo will play road games against Sonoma State and St. Mary's before heading to the tournament. BYUH will tune up with doubleheaders against Patten College and Menlo College.
Chaminade plays CSU Stanislaus before the tournament, then wraps up its trip with doubleheaders against Menlo and Humboldt State.
Hawai'i Pacific will play the tournament first, then play games against Sonoma State and UC Davis.
"It's a chance to increase our visibility with other teams up there," said UH-Hilo coach Callen Perreira.
Perreira, whose team plays four doubleheaders this week, has been experimenting with different lineups to get his young team ready for the trip.
"We didn't have a pre-season so this is an opportunity to get some players some playing time," he said. "It also allows us to rest certain people."
The Vulcans' first trip to Northern California in six years will give several players a chance to play in front of friends and family.
Kristine Kahoalii is from Fremont and Trisha Holley hails from Rocklin. Melissa Martinez and Claresa Asuncion are also from California.
Perreira said the team is especially anxious to meet CSU Stanislaus in the tournament. Last year, the Vulcans fell to Stanislaus, 6-5, after leading 5-1.
"We'd like to show them that we're better than that," Perreira said.
HONORS • Lady Sea Warrior recognized: HPU sophomore Kim Fukumoto was named the Pacific West Conference Co-Player of the Week for her part in the Lady Sea Warriors' four wins last week.
Fukumoto shared the honor with Melanie Baker, a freshman at Humboldt State.
Fukumoto hit .455 and drove in six runs last week as HPU swept doubleheaders against PacWest rival BYUH and Armstrong Atlantic, which was then ranked No. 4 in Division 2.
