Posted on: Wednesday, May 4, 2005
HOMEGROWN REPORT
Five from Hawai'i tee it up at women's NCAAs
| • | No place on diamond for sibling rivalry |
By Leila Wai
Advertiser Staff Writer
Five of the 324 women golfers playing in this week's NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championships Regionals are from Hawai'i.
Qualifying with their teams were Pepperdine senior Rachel Kyono (Kaua'i '02) and Jackson State (Miss.) sophomore Kellie Kawahara (Waiakea '03 of Hilo) in the East Regional; San Francisco senior Mariko Joan Shimozaki (Seabury Hall '01) in the West Regional, and Long Island sophomore Erica Chong (Hilo '03) in the Central Regional.
Nebraska senior Merynn Ito ('Aiea '01) earned an at-large berth to compete as an individual in the Central Regional.
Eight teams and two individuals — representing 126 of the 324-player field — will advance from each region to the championships, May 17 to 20 at Sunriver, Ore.
Men's Golf
• Oregon sophomore Matt Ma (Iolani '02 of 'Aiea) was named to the Pac-10's All-Conference second team. He leads Oregon with a 72.6 scoring average, and has finished 14th or better in five consecutive tournaments, including a tie for 14th at last week's Pac-10 championships.
• Air Force senior Kala'e Leong (Kamehameha) shot 79-77-75—231 to tie for 31st at the Mountain West Conference Championships on Saturday at the Sunriver Resort in Oregon. • Pacific Lutheran (Tacoma, Wash.) junior Kurt Inouye (Kaua'i of Kapa'a) was named to the all-Northwest Conference team after shooting 73-74-76—223 to tie for fifth at the NWC Championships on April 26 at Blue River, Ore. Softball
• Brigham Young junior first baseman Ianeta Le'i (Iolani '02 of Mililani) batted 2 for 3, including her 10th homer of the season, and drove in three runs in a 4-0 win over New Mexico on Thursday. She also had two RBIs in a 9-7 win in the second game. • Portland State sophomore outfielder Kimi Daniel (Sacred Hearts '03) batted 2 for 3, including a homer, in a 9-3 win over Sacramento State on April 24. She also homered in a 4-1 loss to Oregon April 20.
• Loyola Marymount senior right fielder Lauren Hiramoto (Punahou '01 of Honolulu) batted 1 for 3 with an RBI in her final regular-season game, a 5-4 loss to Sacramento State on Sunday. LMU won the Pacific Coast Softball Conference title, earning a berth in the NCAA Tournament. • Redlands (Calif.) senior second baseman Courtney Cho (Kamehameha of 'Aiea) was named to the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference second team, after batting .340 with 18 hits and 10 RBIs.
Tennis
• Cal Poly Pomona junior Katrina Holmberg (King Kekaulike of Pukalani) was named to the California Collegiate Athletic Association first team at No. 2 singles after finishing with a 7-3 record. Holmberg, who won her singles and doubles matches in an NCAA Division II playoff match with Sonoma State on Sunday, returns to Hawai'i to play against top-ranked Brigham Young-Hawai'i on Thursday.
In Sunday's playoffs, Holmberg teamed with Dehlia Feliz at No. 1 doubles to beat Brianna Bailey and Gina Dunch, 8-1, and won at No. 2 singles over Katie Murphy, 6-0, 6-3.
• Cal Poly San Luis Obispo senior Noelle Lee (Iolani '01 of Waipahu) was named to the Big West All-Conference second team in doubles. Lee had an 18-9 overall record with partner Chelsy Thompson, including 13-7 at No. 2. Lee also was 13-11 in singles, including 10-7 at No. 3. • Williams College (Williams-town, Mass.) freshman Jane Kelley (Punahou '04 of Kahala) reached the D singles finals and C doubles semifinals in leading Williams College to fourth place in the New England Small College Athletic Conference Championships on Sunday.Ê
If you know of any athletes deserving of recognition, give us their names, high schools and graduation years, colleges and sports. E-mail us at: homegrown@honoluluadvertiser.com or contact Leila Wai at 535-2457. In doubles, Kelley teamed with Lauren Ayres to defeat Britt Fallon and Holly Bawden of Connecticut, 8-4, in the first round, and Allie Pohl and Lindsay Walsh of Hamilton, 8-5, in the quarterfinals, but lost in the semifinals to Amherst's Stein and Erin Murphy, 8-3.
Baseball
• San Diego senior outfielder Gavin Ng (Mililani '01) scored on a suicide squeeze in the bottom of the ninth for the tying run in a 3-2 victory over San Francisco on Sunday. • Brigham Young junior designated hitter Apana Nakayama (Moloka'i '00 of Kaunakakai) hit a two-out double in a nine-run seventh inning that helped the Cougars beat Air Force, 17-9, Saturday. Nakayama finished 2 for 6 with three RBIs. • Hartnell (Salinas, Calif.) Community College's freshman pitcher Marc Nobriga (Saint Louis '04) pitched a six-hitter with 13 strikeouts in a 6-1 win over Ohlone April 28. Casey Oketani (Kaua'i) was 3 for 5 with three doubles and sophomore Chris Balatico (Mililani '03) had two hits. On April 26, Balatico struck out nine in eight innings of an 8-4 win over Gavilan.
• Diablo Valley (Pleasant Hill, Calif.) freshman second baseman Johnny Gentry (Saint Louis '04) batted 3 for 4 with six RBIs, and freshman first baseman Kepa Wong (Aiea '04) went 2 for 4 in a 13-11 win over Contra Costa on April 26. Crew
• Williams College (Williams-town, Mass.) freshman Will Jacobson (Punahou '04 of 'Aina Haina) helped the Novice Men's Eight crew finish third in the Petite Finals of the New England Rowing Championships at Worcester, Mass., on Sunday.
Reach Leila Wai at lwai@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2457.
In singles play, Kelley beat Alison Curtin of Wesleyan, 7-5, 6-4, in the quarterfinals and Emma Allison of Wesleyan, 6-3, 6-1, in the semifinals, but fell to Amherst's Laura Stein, 6-3, 6-1.
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