ISLE FILE
Garcia advances in Rip Curl Cup surf
Advertiser Staff
Wai'anae's Sunny Garcia maintained his lead in the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing by winning his first round heat in the Rip Curl Cup yesterday.
Five heats of the contest were completed in wave faces of 15 to 20 feet at Sunset Beach, but when the swell rose higher than 25 feet, the remainder of the first round was postponed.
Garcia, who won the Vans Hawaiian Pro at Hale'iwa last week, caught three big waves to easily win his heat over Australian Mick Fanning and Brazil's Rodrigo Dornelles.
"I think it was unfair out there," Garcia said. "The guys in my heat couldn't even catch waves. We shouldn't have to surf these kinds of conditions knowing that the waves are going to become too big during the day."
With his victory, Garcia advanced directly to the third round. He was the only Hawai'i surfer to compete yesterday.
Kaua'i's Andy Irons and Australia's Luke Egan, the Nos. 1- and 2-ranked surfers, respectively, convinced contest officials to postpone the remainder of the day.
"That last heat wasn't really surfing," Egan said. "We all just want a fair chance."
The Rip Curl Cup is the second contest in the prestigious Triple Crown series.
The contest could resume today, conditions permitting. For daily status, call 596-7873 or visit triplecrownofsurfing.com.
BASKETBALL
BYUH rolls: Alexus Foyle scored 28 points and Brigham Young-Hawai'i shot 60.7 percent from the field to crush Oakland City (Ind.), 103-75, last night at the Cannon Activities Center.
Foyle shot 13-for-18 to lead the hot-shooting Seasiders (37-for-61). Scott Salisbury added 18 points, and Jeremy Frampton, Pablo Broering and Beau Nobmann added 10 apiece. Shawn Opunui contributed 12 assists for BYUH, which led 54-33 at the half.
Clint Weddle scored 18, Russell Scott 17 and Jared McIntire 14 for Oakland City.
HPU holds on: Marvin Noble scored 22 points and Nick Walter 20 as Hawai'i Pacific held off St. Mary's (Texas), 83-78, last night at the Mid-Pacific Institute gym.
Leandro Maruoka added 14 points, and Nate Block had 10 points and eight rebounds for the Sea Warriors.
Antonio Falu scored 27 points and Ben McCain 12 for St. Mary's.
CROSS COUNTRY
UH's Chang places 177th: University of Hawai'i junior Victoria Chang battled the wind and 30-degree temperatures to finish 177th at the 2002 NCAA Division I Women's Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, Ind.
Chang, the top Rainbow Wahine runner in every race this season, completed the 6-kilometer course in 21 minutes, 54.7 seconds. That was just three seconds behind her third-place finish at last week's West Regional.
North Carolina's Shalane Flanagan finished first in the 254-runner field in 19:36.0. Brigham Young won the team title.
Southern Methodist's Karin Van Rooyen, the Western Athletic Conference champion, placed 14th in 20:06.3.
Chang charged the uphill start with her second-best beginning 1K of the season (3:08), but she had difficulty breathing in the cold air following the 2K mark.
"I was in position following the first 1K, but then I felt like my legs were cramping and feeling stiff and rigid," Chang said. "At that point, I kind of lost focus and concentration. I went in with no expectations and goals, but it was a very good experience overall."
Colorado's Jorge Torres won the men's 10K race in 29:04.7 and Stanford took the team title.
GOLF
Young claims gold: The amateur team threatened to end the pros' domination in the Gov. John Burns Challenge Cup yesterday at the Mid-Pacific Country Club.
The professionals have a three-year win streak in the event, which winds up today with 12 individual matches.
The amateurs — getting two wins each from the teams of Shannon Sibayan/Blaine Kimura and Jonathan Ota/Joe Phengsavath — scored 8.5 points to the pros' 3.5 in best-ball and alternate-shot competition yesterday.
Sibayan and Kimura beat Casey Nakama and Lance Taketa, 1-up, in best ball and returned in the afternoon to trounce Philip Chun and Paul Ito, 4 and 3, in alternate shot.
Ota and Phengsavath beat Beau Yokomoto and Regan Lee, 2 and 1, in best ball and Andrew Feldmann and Mike Iyoki, 2-up, in alternate shot.
WEIGHTLIFTING
Young claims gold: Hawai'i's Bruce Young won a gold medal at the World Bench Press Championships.
Young, competing in the masters division (ages 40-46) in the 220-pound class, won with a lift of 440 pounds.
