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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, April 5, 2006

HOMEGROWN REPORT
Big West academic honor goes to Ching

By Leila Wai and Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writers

Megan Ching

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If you know of any athletes deserving of recognition, give us their names, high schools and graduation years, colleges and sports. Photos are also welcome. E-mail us at: homegrown@honoluluadvertiser.com or call Leila Wai at 535-2457.

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Women's basketball player Megan Ching, a 2003 Kamehameha graduate from Honolulu, was named Cal State Northridge's Big West Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the 2004-05 season.

Ching, a junior guard, is majoring in biology and carries a 3.93 grade point average.

She started 23 of 30 games this season, averaging 5.5 points, 3.6 assists and 3.5 rebounds while playing 24.8 minutes per game.

MORE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

  • The season recently ended for Barton County (Kan.) sophomore Sunshine Misa-Uli (Farrington '04), but her life is just starting to get busy.

    After promising her coach that she would wait until after her season to decide what Division I college she would commit to, she must now deal with the barrage of phone calls from interested coaches.

    "It feels great," said Misa-Uli, a 6-foot forward. "It's crazy. I'm just stressed out. Coaches are attacking me from every angle."

    Barton ended its season in the Region VI finals with a 67-62 loss to Colby (Kan.) on March 14.

    Misa-Uli, who averaged team highs of 10.5 points and 6.8 rebounds, is a finalist for the Women's Basketball Coaches Association All-America Junior College Division II team. She was one of five players selected in Region 5.

    She was also named to the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I All-Region VI First Team and the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference All-Conference Western Division first team, even while playing with sprained abdominal muscles the last three weeks of the season.

  • Washington University (St. Louis) freshman guard Shanna-Lei Dacanay (Punahou '05) was named to the Women's DIII News All-American All-Freshman Team. DIII News is the monthly newsletter of Division III Women's Basketball.

    SWIMMING

  • San Diego senior Ashley Swart (Kaiser '02 of Hawai'i Kai) competed in the NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving National Championships at Athens, Ga.

    Swart swam in the preliminary rounds in the 400 individual medley (29th, 4:20.61) and the 200 breaststroke (34th, 2:16.93).

  • Stanford junior Hongzhe Sun (Iolani '03) was named to the Pacific-10 Conference All-Academic first team. Sun earned a 3.26 GPA in management science and engineering.

    Stanford sophomore Noa Sakamoto (Punahou '04) was an honorable mention selection.

    MEN'S VOLLEYBALL

  • Johnson & Wales (Providence, R.I.) freshman outside hitter Hapaki Kaululaau (Kahuku '05) was named the New England Conference Rookie of the Week on March 13.

    He averaged 2.45 kills, 4.18 digs and 0.73 aces per game, while hitting .455 over three matches for the Wildcats (13-6, 4-2). In a 3-1 win at Endicott, he had 29 digs with nine kills (9-2-31) and three aces.

    He had 10 kills in 12 attacks without an error in a sweep of Southern Vermont. In a 3-1 loss at MIT, he hit .667, with eight kills and no errors in 12 attempts, and added 12 digs.

    Kaululaau committed just two hitting errors over 11 games.

    BASEBALL

  • San Diego junior second baseman Keoni Ruth (Kamehameha '03) batted 5 for 12 with five RBIs and a steal to help the Toreros take 2 of 3 from Saint Mary's over the weekend.

  • Cal State Northridge junior second baseman Jonathan Sakurai ('Aiea '03) was 4 for 11 with a steal over the weekend, but his Matadors were swept in a three-game series by Cal State Fullerton.

  • Saint Martin's (Lacey, Wash.) freshman outfielder Ryan Brilhante (Saint Louis '05) scored the winning run to beat Hawai'i Pacific, 5-4, in 10 innings Saturday in Division II play.

    With the game tied at 4, Brilhante singled with two outs, stole second and scored on Vince Maughan's single to hand the Saints their third win in the four-game series with HPU.

  • Whittier junior designated hitter Matt Morgado (Kamehameha '03 of Wahiawa) was named the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Athlete of the Week on March 29.

    He batted .765 in four games against UMass, Dartmouth and Occidental the week of March 20 to 26. Morgado finished the week with 13 hits, including a two-run home run and two doubles in 17 at bats.

    WOMEN'S GOLF

  • Oregon State senior Leah Whiting (Waiakea of Hilo) tied her best outing of the season by placing fifth in the Oregon Duck Invitational at the par-72, 6,191-yard Emerald Green Golf Course in Oregon.

    Whiting shot 74-75-77—226 in the tournament that concluded March 28.

    Idaho sophomore Kelly Nakashima (Baldwin '04) tied for 11th at 229. (Her individual rounds were not available).

    New Mexico State junior Lehua Wise (Kaua'i '03 of Lihu'e) was her team's top finisher, shooting 77-79-79—235 to tie for 21st place.

    Portland junior Melanie Lee (Pearl City of Waipahu) tied for 63rd at 89-80-84—253.

  • Whiting shot 77-78-74—229 to tie for 37th at the PING/ASU Invitational that concluded Sunday at Karsten Golf Course in Tempe, Ariz.

    Arizona freshman Amanda Wilson (Waiakea '05) tied for 50th (77-81-74—232), Stanford freshman Mari Chun (Kamehameha '05) tied for 53rd (84-77-72—233), Southern California freshman Shelcie Takenouchi (Kaua'i of Lihu'e) tied for 77th (88-77-77—242) and Long Beach State sophomore Kira Murashige (Waiakea of Hilo) finished 90th (88-79-81—248).

    TRACK AND FIELD

  • Michigan junior Todd Iacovelli (Punahou '02 of Kailua) earned his first collegiate victory in the 5,000-meter run — finishing in 15:02.59 at the Yellowjacket Invitational in Georgia last weekend.

    He also placed 10th in the 1,500 with 3:58.81.

  • Duke sophomore Tia Ferguson (Seabury Hall '04) recorded a top-25 finish and a regional qualifying time of 16:29.52 in the 5,000 at the prestigious Stanford Invitational Saturday.

    SOFTBALL

  • Brigham Young senior third baseman Ashlyn Russell (Baldwin '02) earned her first career Mountain West Conference Softball Player of the Week award on March 8.

    She hit a two-run single against No. 14 Texas A&M in the bottom of the fifth inning to give BYU an 8-0 victory by the eight-run rule. She also hit a home run and had four RBIs.

    She also singled in the tie-breaking run with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, leading BYU to a 5-4 win over College of Charleston.

    She tallied nine RBIs in five games.

    Senior first baseman Ianeta Le'i (Iolani '02) hit two home runs as BYU swept UNLV, 13-7 and 9-1 Saturday.

    Le'i batted 3 for 4 in the first game, including a homer over the flag pole in left-center field.

    "Neta's home run is the deepest I've seen as a softball coach," BYU coach Gordon Eakin said on the school's Web site.

    In game two, Le'i went 2 for 3, Russell 1 for 4, and sophomore center fielder Emi Snow (Kamehameha '04) had a double and two RBIs.

  • Tennessee freshman middle infielder Liane Horiuchi (Kamehameha '05 from Wahiawa) batted 2 for 4 in a doubleheader sweep of Kentucky on March 29.

    Kentucky assistant coach Melissa Inouye is a Mililani graduate.

    WRESTLING

  • Portland State junior Kainoa Casco (Lahainaluna) was named to the Pacific-10 Conference All-Academic second team.

    Casco earned a 3.48 GPA in business administration.

    COMMITMENTS

  • Kamehameha senior Alyssa Chun will walk on to the Santa Clara women's soccer team in the fall, according to Kamehameha coach Michele Nagamine.

    Chun will attend Santa Clara on an academic scholarship.

  • Kamehameha-Hawai'i soccer players Mahina Costales and Amber Spencer both signed with Bethel College (Ind.).

  • Lahainaluna's Peni Fiuangaihetau and Kaleohone Roback have signed to play football at Weber State and University of Montana-Western, respectively.

    Fiuangaihetau will play defensive line and Roback will play offensive line for Tommy Lee, a former coach at Saint Louis.

  • Iolani midfielder Dylan Langley signed with Swarthmore (Pa.) to play for the men's soccer team in the fall.

    Reach Leila Wai at lwai@honoluluadvertiser.com and Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.