ISLE FILE
Punahou's Richardson to play volleyball at St. John's
Advertiser Staff
Puna Richardson of Punahou, a second-team all-state volleyball selection last year, says she will sign next month to play at St. John's in New York.
Richardson, a 6-foot middle blocker, will join two other former Interscholastic League of Honolulu all-stars who will be seniors next season at St. John's — setter Robyn Kurasaki of Maryknoll and outside hitter Rosalyn Dang of Punahou.
The early signing period for all sports except football, soccer and men's water polo is Nov. 13-20.
St. John's could have a fourth player from Hawai'i next season. Coach Joanne Persico-Smith also vigorously recruited Punahou setter Marissa Chow, but Chow said Sunday that she probably won't make a decision until later. The late signing period is April 16-Aug. 1.
Chow said she has visited St. John's, Brown and the Air Force Academy and is planning a trip to Dartmouth in January.
NCAA rules prohibit Persico-Smith from talking about Richardson until she signs but the St. John's coach has vowed to make Hawai'i one of her principal recruiting targets. "I have been very impressed with the technique and ball control skills that the Hawai'i club players possess," she said.
St. John's is located in Jamaica, N.Y., east of New York City.
— By Dennis Anderson
MORE VOLLEYBALL
Tano honored: Kane'ohe's Kimberly Tano was named Pacific West Conference Player of the Week for helping Western New Mexico upset fourth-ranked Brigham Young-Hawai'i in a non-conference women's volleyball match last Tuesday.
Tano, a St. Francis School graduate, knocked down a team-high 20 kills while hitting .241 as the Mustangs defeated the Seasiders, 30-27, 30-28, 20-30, 18-30, 15-12.
The 5-foot-9 sophomore outside hitter also had 13 digs. Tano is in the top 10 in the conference for both hitting percentage (.274, 6th) and kills per game (3.74, 7th).
SURFING
Xcel-lent opening: The opening heats of the 19th annual Xcel Pro were held in waves that ranged from 6 to 15 feet yesterday at Sunset Beach.
Pancho Sullivan, the 2000 Xcel Pro champion from O'ahu's North Shore, led a charge of Hawai'i surfers into the third round. Each of the seven surfers to win second-round heats yesterday were from Hawai'i: Sullivan, Jamie Sterling, Dustin Barca, Nathan Carroll, Aamion Goodwin, Daniel Jones and Marcus Hickman.
Carroll, a 17-year-old home school senior from Sunset Beach, caught some of the biggest waves of the day in his second-round victory.
The top-seeded surfers in the contest — including defending champion Gavin Beschen and former world champs Derek Ho and Sunny Garcia — received byes yesterday.
Waves started around 6 feet yesterday morning, then grew to 15 feet by the afternoon. Officials postponed the remainder of the second round at 3 p.m. after waves became too treacherous.
At least two more days of competition are needed to determine a champion. For daily status of the contest, call 596-7873.
