BYUH tennis team keeps focus on present
By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer
Brigham Young-Hawai'i tennis coach David Porter said he has learned to keep his thoughts on the match at hand, and not dwell on keeping the nation's longest women's tennis winning streak alive.
The top-ranked BYUH women's team yesterday stretched its streak to 87 dual matches with a 9-0 victory over Montevallo (Ala.) in Pensacola, Fla.
The two-time defending national champion Seasiders (21-0) need to win 16 more consecutive matches to tie the women's collegiate tennis winning streak of 103 set by BYUH from 1998 to 2001.
BYUH's last loss was to Lynn (Fla.) at the NCAA Division II National Championships in May 2001. In its past 191 matches, BYUH is 190-1. This season, the Lady Seasiders have swept nearly every opponent, and have lost just four individual matches. The top five singles players, Adrienn Hegedus (15-0), Jing Jing Liu (16-0), Anna Lewis (17-0), Judy Weng (11-0) and Amy Sun (16-0), have not dropped a singles match this season.
"I don't even talk about it (the winning streak), I don't even mention it," Porter said. "Our goal is to represent the university the best we can, and for the kids to learn lessons and play well. To be mentally tough, you have to play in the present, and that's not thinking about the future or the past."
Porter said his players are self-motivated and he doesn't feel the need to use the winning streak as an incentive. He said many of the players don't pay attention to the streak anyway.
"I don't think they're even aware of it because you get new players each year and they don't always know what happened the year before they came," said Porter, who said the winning streak is a combination of getting good players, and their willingness to work hard. "Every streak is going to end. I'm not worried about when it's going to end."
Porter said he only asks his players to play their best, and not think about the winning streak or about the possibility of losing.
"They're not playing to defend a streak or a title, they're playing to win," Porter said. "When you do that, you play your best. I just tell them, you can't win all the time, and if someone beats you that's fine."
In an example of hard work, the BYUH women yesterday asked Porter if they could have additional practice after they defeated Montevallo.
"It's a tribute to the fact that they want to work on things that they feel will make them better," Porter said. "As long as they have that attitude, I think there's a chance to continue to improve."
The BYUH women's team is not the only top-ranked team in Hawai'i. The Hawai'i Pacific men's team is No. 1 in Division II.
The HPU men's team has finished runner-up three times in the past four years — including twice in 2002 and 2003 to champion BYUH — at the NCAA Division II National Championships.
This season, HPU (14-0) has battled injuries and sickness with its top players, Sasa Pirc (elbow), Gregor Krusic (back), Moritz Szelzki (flu-like symptoms) and Mikael Maatta (cold), according to HPU coach Henry Somerville.
"Looking at the silver lining, our bench is comfortable getting in there and playing in big time situations against bigger teams," Somerville said. "Our bench has been able to contribute and play."
Porter said he believes the HPU men's team is the Division II favorite this season, if they remain healthy.
"If I couldn't pick my team, and I had to pick one of those teams (including No. 2 West Florida), I'd take Henry's," said Porter, whose No. 3 BYUH men's team lost to West Florida, 7-2, Tuesday. "I think man-for-man, if they're healthy, they're the best team in the nation for Division II."
SOFTBALL
HPU softball surges in poll: Hawai'i Pacific (13-5) moved up three spots this week to No. 3 in the women's softball regional poll released yesterday.
Humboldt State (32-6) is No. 1 and Cal State Bakersfield (30-9) is No. 2. Following HPU is Central Washington (12-8), Western New Mexico (22-8), Seattle (9-6) and Hawai'i-Hilo.
The top six teams from each region advance to the NCAA Division II regional tournament. Conference winners will receive an automatic berth to their respective regional tournament.
BASEBALL
Hawai'i-Hilo outfielder honored: Sophomore left fielder David Chu earned Division I Independent Baseball Player of the Week accolades after his performance last week against the University of California-Riverside.
Chu, who bats leadoff, batted .467 (7 for 15) and recorded a .533 on-base average in a four-game series. Chu raised his season batting average to .315, and tops the team with a .432 on-base average.
Defensively, Chu made several key catches, and handled 13 chances without committing an error.
