Posted on: Saturday, May 8, 2004
ISLE FILE
BYUH, UHH reach national tennis event
Advertiser Staff
Top-ranked Brigham Young-Hawai'i and 11th-ranked Hawai'i-Hilo advanced from their respective brackets yesterday to the NCAA Division II National Championships in women's tennis.
The teams will play in the national round of 16 at Altamonte Springs, Fla., May 12 to 15.
BYUH defeated 19th-ranked Hawai'i Pacific, 5-0, yesterday in La'ie to improve to 31-0 and run its winning streak to 97 matches.
Adrienn Hegedus and Jing Jing Liu got the Seasiders off to a fast start by sweeping their No. 1 doubles match, 8-0. BYUH took the other two doubles matches for a 3-0 lead, then clinched it with victories at No. 2 and No. 4 singles.
Hawai'i-Hilo beat visiting University of California-San Diego, 6-1, to clinch its national berth.
The Vulcans started by winning two of the three doubles matches, including an 8-2 win by the No. 2 team of Estelle Vicquenault and Krystal Hangai.
"We lost that doubles the last time we played but won first and third doubles," said UHH coach Kula Oda. "Winning that one made up for dropping first doubles."
Oda cited Mai Fujii's 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 win at No. 2 singles for helping the Vulcans wrap up the match.
"Mai coming back (after dropping the first set) and winning was really important for us because that's a crucial position for us," Oda said.
• Festivals start today: The USTA-Hawai'i Pacific Section will hold a tennis festival today from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in front of Sports Authority at Ward. May is national tennis month. Look for festivals — all free — in Windward Mall May 15 and Kahala Mall May 30.
University of Hawai'i coach John Nelson will be at McCoy Pavilion Wednesday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
SOFTBALL
• Rainbows split: The University of Hawai'i women's softball team smacked around San Jose State pitching for 13 hits, but had to hold on for a 3-2 victory in the first game of a Western Athletic Conference doubleheader yesterday at San Jose, Calif. The Spartans won the second game, 2-1.
Hawai'i (27-32, 9-13 WAC) and San Jose State (15-32, 8-10) play another doubleheader today.
Tracie Uchima and Justina Kahaku each had three hits for the Rainbow Wahine in yesterday's first game. Melissa Coogan (10-18) worked 4¡ innings to earn the victory, and Paula Blanning finished to earn her first save of the season.
Uchima gave UH a 1-0 lead in the third with an RBI single, and the Rainbows added two more in the fifth on Denise Dahlberg's RBI single and April Crowell's RBI double.
San Jose State closed to 3-2 with two runs in the fifth, but Blanning worked out of a one-out, bases-loaded situation to preserve the lead.
In the second game, Megan Delgado put San Jose State ahead to stay with a two-run triple that made it 2-1 in the sixth.
GOLF
• UH's Odelius tied for 12th: University of Hawai'i freshman Sara Odelius shot even-par 72 yesterday and moved into a tie for 12th place after two rounds of the NCAA Women's Golf West Regional at Stanford, Calif. Odelius, playing as an individual, is at 146 heading into today's final round at the Stanford Golf Course.
UCLA's Hannah Jun shot a 71 to lead at 138. Allison Hanna of Ohio State is second at 70—141.
UCLA shot a 293 yesterday and leads the team competition with 575. California is second at 579.
PADDLING
• 100 teams take Challenge: Approximately 100 teams are expected to participate in the Steinlager/Pahio Resorts Kaua'i World Challenge paddling race today.
The event is for one-person canoes and surfskis, but with two paddlers alternating throughout the course. The 34-mile course starts at Wailua Beach and finishes at Salt Pond, Hanapepe.
The race offers $20,000 in prize money — the largest prize purse for a paddling event in Hawai'i.
Among the top men's canoe teams are Karel Tresnak Jr. and Maui Kjeldsen, Aaron Napoleon and Kea Pa'iaina, and Mike Judd and Tapa Worthington. Among the top women's canoe teams are Robyn Saultry and Lisa Curry-Kenny, and Cherisse Keli'i and Lauren Spalding.
Several top international surfski paddlers are in the field, including Australia's Dean Gardiner, and South Africa's Oscar and Herman Chalupsky.
