Warriors place six on MPSF's All-Academic team
By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
The University of Hawai'i placed six players on the 2003 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Men's Volleyball Academic Team.
The nation's best player, opposite hitter Costas Theocharidis, led the Warriors in the classroom with a 3.72 cumulative grade-point average.
Other Warriors honored were middle blocker Joshua Stanhiser (3.28 GPA), libero Jake Muise (3.27), setter Kimo Tuyay (3.16), outside hitter Eyal Zimet (3.14) and middle blocker Brian Nordberg (3.08). Theocharidis, Zimet and Nordberg completed their NCAA eligibility last month. Muise and Tuyay have been named team captains for next season.
The Warriors had the most honorees among the 12 MPSF teams.
"I'm not surprised," said UH coach Mike Wilton, who credited faculty representative Stephen Martin for submitting the nominations. "They worked very hard."
Wilton, who has benched starters for lackluster grades, said: "There are three aspects to being on the team: being the best player they can be, being the best student they can be, being the best person they can be. Each aspect is important. It's part of the platform of the program."
UH adds Gaucho: Alfred Reft, who was a backup libero as a second-year freshman at UC Santa Barbara last season, has decided to transfer to UH.
Reft led Oxnard (Calif.) High to two Pacific League championships. He was named to the All-Ventura County All-Star team three times. During the 2001 championship, Reft set the school record for kills (39), digs and aces in a single match.
Schedule in place: Pending final approval from athletic director Herman Frazier, the Warriors' 2004 schedule calls for home matches against the champions of the NCAA's three conferences.
National champion Lewis (of Illinois) and East champion Penn State will play in the Outrigger Invitational. MPSF winner Brigham Young will play two regular-season matches in the Stan Sheriff Center.
UH also will host UCLA, Long Beach State, UC Irvine, UC San Diego, Ball State and Cal Baptist. Cal Baptist is an NAIA school seeking NCAA membership. When that happens, Cal Baptist will join the MPSF.
