Chan propels Long Beach tennis
By Dennis Anderson
Advertiser Staff Writer
Team captain Kelly Chan (Konawaena '00) and her Long Beach State teammates will be watching their computers today to learn if they have received an at-large bid to the NCAA Regionals May 9-11.
Long Beach State
The 49ers (15-8) lost the Big West championship match to Cal Poly last weekend, but Chan improved her record at No. 5 singles to 19-12, and 12-3 since Feb. 9 (two of the three losses were in three sets).
Konawaena grad Kelly Chan has won 12 of her last 15 singles matches for Long Beach State.
"Kelly has made tremendous progress in her game this year. She is a much smarter player on the court," coach Jenny Hilt said. "She has always had the tools, but she did not know how to use them.
"This year she has really learned how to use all of her shots, open up the court and play into her own strengths. She has also worked on her mental game and I think it is now one of her strongest attributes (her mental game was a weakness when she was a freshman).
"To see a player make so much progress is a thrill for a coach."
• Northern Colorado
Junior Jan Ikeda (Baldwin '00) won No. 1 singles, senior Jodie Sato (Mililani '99) won No. 2 singles and together they won No. 1 doubles at the North Central Conference championships.
Sato made it a career sweep, with four straight conference singles and doubles crowns, unbeaten in the conference tournament. It was the third year in a row that Ikeda and Sato won as a team. They are ranked 11th in NCAA Division II.
