Posted on: Saturday, May 1, 2004
HPU used two ineligible tennis players
By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer
The top-ranked Hawai'i Pacific men's tennis team has withdrawn from next week's postseason after the NCAA ruled Wednesday that two players were ineligible. The Sea Warriors plan to forfeit matches in which the ineligible players participated, and have notified the NCAA of self-imposed sanctions, HPU president Chatt G. Wright announced yesterday.
The amateur status of the two international players was nullified because of their participation in "organized competition" before they enrolled at HPU, said E. Rick Stepien, HPU vice president for administration.
The players' names were not released. Stepien said he did not know how many matches they had played in.
HPU (21-0) was scheduled to host the NCAA Division II West Regional Men's Tennis tournament next weekend.
The Sea Warriors were considered a favorite to win their first NCAA men's tennis championship this season. They had finished runner-up three times in the past four years — including twice in 2002 and 2003 to champion Brigham Young-Hawai'i.
Stepien said the school failed to adequately screen the two players' history before their enrollment.
"We missed these," said Stepien, who believed the sanctions were the most serious in school history. "There was no intent here to do anything malicious."
Last month, the HPU won the Pacific West Conference championship and defeated the top-ranked NAIA team in Azusa Pacific.
"All I can do is congratulate the guys on the season they had," HPU tennis coach Henry Somerville said. "What the university is doing is in the best interest of the tennis program, and the entire athletic department."
This is the second time in five months a Hawai'i Division II program has been sanctioned for using an ineligible player.
In November, the BYUH women's volleyball team announced it used an ineligible player in 14 matches. The school forfeited its PacWest championship and the automatic NCAA tournament berth.
Reach Brandon Masuoka at bmasuoka@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2458.
