Isle File
Arena football minor league has home in Hawai'i
Advertiser Staff
An arenafootball2 professional franchise called the Hawaiian Islanders will begin play next March in the Blaisdell Arena.
A press conference will be held Thursday to announce details.
The owner of the franchise is Charles Wang, who co-owns the National Hockey League's New York Islanders and the Arena Football League's New York Dragons.
The league, a minor league spinoff of the parent Arena Football League, which the NFL has an option to purchase, is operating as a 28-team circuit. In June Scott Rowan, media relations manager for af2 said plans are to expand to about 40 teams for the 2002 season.
Teams are scheduled to play a 16-game season over 17 weeks, between March and August.
SOCCER
• UH wins opener: Sophomore Arlene Devitt of Kapa‘a, Kaua‘i, scored the winning goal 10 minutes into overtime to lift the University of Hawai‘i Wahine to a 2-1 victory over Sacramento State in the season opener at Waipi‘o Peninsula Soccer Stadium last night. Pam Fong, of Pearl City, scored Hawai‘i’s other goal. Lisa Wrightsman scored for Sacramento State.
VOLLEYBALL
• BYUH, HPU undefeated: Hawai‘i Pacific and Brigham Young-Hawai‘i remained undefeated during the second day of the eighth annual Hawaiian Style Classic volleyball tournament in Hilo.
BYUH and HPU lead the tournament at 3-0. Hawai‘i-Hilo is 2-2.
In games involving Hawai‘i teams, HPU swept Mercyhurst (Pa.) 30-22, 30-28, 30-27; BYUH outlasted UH-Hilo 30-28, 30-14, 27-30, 22-30, 15-13; BYUH swept Friends (Kan.) 30-17, 30-9; 30-19; HPU topped St. Martin’s (Wash.) 30-25, 30-27, 30-13 and Mercyhurst defeated UH-Hilo, 30-27, 19-30, 26-30, 34-32, 16-14.
• Chaminade loses: Chico State (Calif.) defeated Chaminade 30-27, 30-26, 23-30, 30-25 yesterday in the Cal State Stanislaus volleyball tournament in Turlock, Calif. On Thursday, North Dakota defeated Chaminade 30-26, 30-25, 18-30, 30-21.
GOLF
• Ka'ae goes deep: Ku'ulei Ka'ae won the local qualifier for the 15th U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur Thursday at Mid-Pacific Country Club.
Ka'ae shot 9-over-par 81 to win by one shot over Sanae Vierra, and two over Mona Kim-Lee and Thidarat Suang. The course was stretched 500 yards, to 6,200 yards, to simulate Fox Run Golf Club, the site of the national championship next month (October) in Missouri.
• Wie in action: Michelle Wie, the 11-year-old who won the Jennie K. and Hawai'i State Women's Stroke Play championships this summer, will play in two "men's" tournaments this month.
Wie is in the championship flight of the 2001 Barbers Point Invitational, which runs today through Monday. She is also entered in the Hickam AFB Invitational, Sept. 14-16 at Mamala Bay.
Both tournaments are open to any amateur with a computerized handicap. Earlier this summer, Wie became the first female to qualify for match play at the Manoa Cup, the men's state match play championship. She lost in the first round.
TENNIS
• Mother-daughter winners: Hattie Somerville and her daughter Betsy Purpura of Kaua'i won the National Senior Mother and Daughter Championships at Newport, R.I. last weekend.
The duo needed four matches to gain the title, defeating Pat Murphy and Karolanne Murphy of New Jersey, 6-0, 6-1 in the championship match.
SURFING
• Ho, Owens just heating up: Hawai'i surfers Michael Ho and Bobby Owens won first-round heats in the Quiksilver Masters World Championship in 3- to 4-foot waves yesterday at Bundoran, Ireland.
Ho, the defending champion in the grand masters division (for ages 44 and older), recorded a three-wave total of 21.4 to easily win his heat. Owens, also competing in the grand masters division, scored 17.5 to edge Australian Wayne Bartholomew by one point.
Among the other Hawai'i surfers in the grand masters division, Buzzy Kerbox placed second and Jeff Hakman fourth in their respective heats.
In the masters division (for ages 35-43), Derek Ho and Hans Hedemann each had second-place showings in the first round.
