ISLE FILE
UH's Atay, Kai sweep WAC weekly honors
Advertiser Staff
The Rainbow Wahine freshman soccer duo of Mahie Atay and Natasha Kai was named Western Athletic Conference Defensive and Offensive Players of the Week for their season-opening conference performances against Tulsa and Rice last week.
Atay, a 5-foot-6 goalkeeper from Kahului, Maui, recorded 12 saves and did not allow a goal in Hawai'i's 6-0 victory against Tulsa and 1-0 win against Rice. On the season, Atay leads Hawai'i with a 1.16 goals against average and 52 saves.
Kai, a 5-foot-8 striker from Kahuku, had a record-breaking week for UH. In her first match back from a two-week illness, Kai recorded the second hat trick in school history, scoring three goals against Tulsa. With her performance, Kai grabbed Hawai'i's freshman records for points (20), goals (9) and shots (61). On the week, Kai led Hawai'i in points (9), goals (3) and shots (12).
SURFING
Irons advances: Kaua'i's Andy Irons advanced to the quarterfinals of the Billabong Pro Mundaka yesterday.
Irons won his fourth round heat in 3- to 5-foot waves at Mundaka, Spain.
Irons, currently the No. 1 ranked surfer in the world, defeated Australian Nathan Hedge, 14.85-13.6. Irons opened the heat with a 7.0 ride, and then followed that with a 7.85 on his second wave.
Australian Luke Egan, who is currently ranked No. 2, also advanced to the quarterfinals yesterday. He eliminated six-time former world champion Kelly Slater of Florida.
Kalani Robb of O'ahu's North Shore was eliminated by Brazil's Flavio Padaratz. Robb received a score of 7.6 late in the heat, but still came up short in the final tally, 12.9-12.6.
Irons is scheduled to face Padaratz in the quarterfinals.
VOLLEYBALL
UH remains No. 2: The University of Hawai'i kept the No. 2 spot in the USA Today/American Volleyball Coaches Association poll today for a fifth consecutive week.
The Rainbow Wahine (13-0) remain behind Southern California (15-0). USC drew 59 first-place votes from a panel of AVCA coaches. UH got six.
Lin honored again: For the third time this season and second in three weeks, Brigham Young-Hawai'i women's volleyball player Chun Yi Lin has been named Pacific West Conference Player of the Week.
Lin, a 6-foot-1 freshman middle blocker from Pingtune, Taiwan, led the fifth-ranked Seasiders (14-1 overall, 4-1 in conference) to two wins over 24th-ranked Hawai'i Pacific (9-5, 4-1) last week.
Lin led BYUH in kills in both matches and added to her nation-best hitting percentage at .490. At BYUH on Friday, Lin recorded two solo blocks, five block assists and hit a match-high 21 kills with a .474 hitting percentage. At Hawai'i Pacific on Saturday, Lin hit .600 with a team-high 13 kills and had six aces.
SAILING
UH wins: The University of Hawai'i coed sailing team won the Stoney Burke Intersectional at Treasure Island, Calif., last weekend.
UH finished with 74 points, followed by Southern Cal with 93.
Hawai'i's A division team, Bryan Lake and Elena Millard, took first with 39 points, followed by Southern Cal with 65.
In the B division race, UH's Joey Pasqualli and Sarah Hitchcock took second (35 points) behind Southern Cal (28).
