ISLE FILE
Maui fighter ultimate champ
Advertiser Staff
Maui's Kendall Grove won the middleweight division final of The Ultimate Fighter 3 mixed martial arts series on Spike TV last night in Las Vegas.
Grove defeated Ed Herman by unanimous decision in the final of the 185-pound division. All three judges scored the bout 29-28.
As the winner, Grove received a six-figure contract to compete in the prestigious Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) organization. Herman, by virtue of closeness of the fight, also received a contract.
"(It) feels great; this is my dream," Grove said. "It was a close fight; I thought it was going to be a split (decision)."
Grove was on the defensive early in the fight, which featured three five-minute rounds, though he attempted several submission holds. At the end of the third round, the 6-foot-6 Grove had Herman in a choke hold, but time expired.
"I was willing to die ... in this ring," said Grove, who credited his "heart" for helping him rally.
The series started with eight fighters in the middleweight division. Over the course of the season, fighters were eliminated week by week.
Grove improved to 8-3, including 3-0 in the series. Herman dropped to 12-4.
SOCCER
BULLS REACH FINAL OF REGION CHAMPIONSHIP
Tamra Nee scored in the 70th minute as HSC Bulls 92 of Hawai'i defeated Sereno 92 White of Arizona, 1-0, yesterday in the semifinals of the under-14 girls division at the US Youth Soccer Region IV Championships in Boise, Idaho.
HSC Bulls 92, which meets ISC Strikers of Southern California in today's final, is the lone team from Hawai'i still in the tournament.
Also yesterday, Pleasanton Rage of Northern California beat Leahi 91 Premier of Hawai'i, 5-3, in an under-15 girls semifinal, and Emerald City FC 88 Green of Washington ousted Real Copa 89 of Hawai'i, 2-1, in overtime of an under-17 boys semifinal.
Meleana Shim, Erin Rementer and Jaclyn Suan scored for Leahi, while Syd Tom had Real Copa's goal.
More than boys and girls teams from 14 state associations began competing last Sunday in 16 divisions.
Region winners from under-14 through under-19 divisions earn berths in the 2006 US Youth Soccer National Championships, July 25 to 30, in Des Moines, Iowa.
SWIMMING
SAKAMOTO, HAGI FASTEST ON NORTH SHORE
Noa Sakamoto and Nicole Hagi won the open divisions of the Raging Isle Summer Sprint yesterday.
Sakamoto covered the 1-mile course from Sunset Beach to 'Ehukai Beach Park in 20 minutes, 15.9 seconds, while Hagi won the women's race in 25:06.1.
The next race in the Surf & Sea North Shore Swim Series is the Surf & Sea Cup, a 1.2-mile race from Puena Point Triangle Swim near Hale'iwa Beach Park on July 8.
BASEBALL
TEAM HAWAI'I WINS
Kylen Cadiam batted 2 for 2 and Reece Kiriu drove in two runs as Team Hawai'i defeated ABD Bulldogs '09 of California, 8-5, yesterday in pool play of the 2006 USA Baseball Junior Olympics West Championships in Arizona.
Reliever Paul Snieder was the winning pitcher for Team Hawai'i, which rallied for four runs in the fifth and three in the sixth.
Team Hawai'i has players from Oahu private and public schools, and is managed by Mililani High coach Dean Sato.
