Setter lands at UH through Internet story

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

Sometimes a deal can be found in those seemingly too-good-to-be-true offers on the Internet.

BECKWITH

Beckwith will start in UH's regular-season opener tomorrow against Penn State in the first round of the Outrigger Invitational in the Stan Sheriff Center. At 6 feet 6, Beckwith is the tallest setter in UH history. He also will be the first freshman setter to start for the Warriors since 2001.

"Why not come to school in Hawai'i?" Beckwith said of the on-line interview. "It's Hawai'i. Everyone likes to vacation here. I wanted to see if I could live here and play volleyball. Luckily (the UH coaches) saw that article and we got to talking."

Beckwith was prepared to commit during his recruiting visit.

Beckwith has surfed in "close to triple overhead" waves on the North Shore. He also has surfed in Costa Rica, Mexico and Tavarua. His family is planning a surfing trip to the Mentawai Islands in Indonesia this summer.

"My whole family surfs," said Beckwith, who learned on a bodyboard when he was 8. "We like being out in the water all of the time."

When the surf was flat, Beckwith and his friends turned to beach volleyball. "That's how I started playing," he said.

Beckwith's mother is an outpatient dietician and diabetes specialist at the UCLA Medical Center. Beckwith spurned UCLA because "I definitely wanted to get the whole college experience and get away from home. That's part of the reason I felt like coming here."

• Leniency sought: The Lewis University and UH men's volleyball teams should not be stripped of their national titles, said Flyers coach Dave Deuser, whose team is competing in the Outrigger Invitational.

The NCAA stripped UH of its 2002 national title after it was found four-time All-America outside hitter Costas Theocharidis of Greece was a member of a professional team in Europe before enrolling at UH in August 1999. The Warriors have appealed, arguing Theocharidis was not paid.

Last month, Lewis, the 2003 national winner, notified the NCAA that it used an ineligible player last season. Deuser identified the player as All-America outside hitter Gustavo Meyer of Mexico.

But Deuser said the amateur rules involving international players are vague and "if you look deep enough into any athletic program in the country you'll find dozens of violations."

He added: "Even with the best intentions, you're human, and you're bound to miss something. Something will fall through the cracks. I would imagine if the NCAA went back to 1993 and looked deep enough into the background of every player on every championship team, I guarantee you (the NCAA) would vacate another half-dozen championships. It's common knowledge. It's a shame that that's the case, but that's the reality."

Deuser said Meyer, who did not make this trip, is awaiting a ruling from the NCAA. Meyer was suspended for parts of the 2002 and 2003 seasons after it was discovered he submitted an incorrect entrance examination to Lewis. Deuser declined to reveal the violation that led to the school's recent report to the NCAA.

Of the chance of being stripped of the national title, Deuser said: "There's always the possibility. Who knows in this day and age? The NCAA Manual is a pretty big book. It's hard to interpret. I don't really have an opinion. Obviously, I hope everything pans out and Gustavo is cleared, but I have learned to not even speculate."

As a Division II member, Lewis was hailed for its upset of Brigham Young in the championship match last May in Long Beach, Calif.

The Flyers received congratulatory letters from across the country. They were the guests of honor at a Chicago Cubs game. In November, they received their championship rings, and a banner was raised in their gym on the Romeoville, Ill., campus.

"I can say this, beyond any doubt, regardless of what happens, nobody can take away from my team, myself, my family and friends, the experience and memories we all shared on May 3 in Long Beach," Deuser said.

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8051.