ISLE FILE
Andy Irons advances at Portugal surf meet

Advertiser Staff

Current leader Andy Irons of Kaua'i broke his series of third-round losses by advancing yesterday at the Association of Surfing Professionals' Figueira Pro in Portugal.

Irons, who has been in front since winning back-to-back tournaments in Australia and Tahiti, lost during round three of the past three events to wildcard entrants. Against Brazil's Neco Padaratz yesterday, he had his best ride under the Brazilian's early priority and posted a 9.5.

"That heat to me was like a final," Irons said. "Just having Neco in waves like this and being such the competitor he is; he had priority, but I noticed he didn't catch it, so I stood up and got a good turn off. Then just milked it for all I could and it was the turning point of the heat, pretty much. I knew I had the edge, but if I could get a 9.5, so could he easily enough. My next wave was a 7.5, so it kind of put the pressure on him.

"I've had three contests in a row losing to wildcards, so it puts a damper on your confidence."

A majority of the men's heats were postponed due to poor surf conditions. The women's semifinals, in which Hawai'i's Megan Abubo is competing, was also postponed.

MARATHON

• Abdallah wins Maui race: Kalid Abdallah of California ended Greg Wenneborg's two-year reign as men's champion at the Maui Marathon yesterday.

Abdallah, 23, of California, finished in 2 hours,19 minutes, 50 seconds, while Wenneborg, of Arizona, finished in 2:27:41.

Roger Busch of Pu'unene, Maui was the first runner from Hawai'i to finish, in 2:38:13.

Japanese runners swept the top two positions in the women's race. Akiko Sekiya won in 2:57:39 followed by Akiko Kobayashi at 3:05:52.Ê

Stephanie Wenneborg, the wife of Greg Wenneborg, took third in 3:13:42.

Randy Caddell of Kailua, Kona, finished first in the wheelchair division in 1:50:43 followed by Ron Amundson of Hilo in 2:01:33.

SOCCER

• UH plays Long Beach today: The University of Hawai'i women's soccer team meets Long Beach State today in the final match of the Ohana Hotels & Resorts Shootout.

The game is at 5 p.m. at Waipi'o Penisula Soccer Stadium.

On Saturday, Shaina O'Donnell scored Long Beach State's first goal 5 minutes, 15 seconds into the game as the 49ers defeated Long Island, 5-0. UH defeated Long Island, 6-1, on Friday.

Long Beach State is 1-5-1, Long Island 2-5-0 and Hawai'i 2-4-1.