They gave 'em an "H," a "P" and a "U," and when it was all over the Hawai'i Pacific University chieftains and chieftesses of cheer were national champions again.

The HPU Large Co-ed Cheer Team won its sixth straight national title at the National Cheerleaders Association championships in Daytona Beach, Fla., over the weekend.

The HPU Small Co-Ed Cheer Team (consisting of no more than four male members) won its fourth consecutive national title.

The HPU Dance Team won its third consecutive championship, totaling four titles overall (2004, 2006-2008).

The HPU All-Girl Stunt Group consisting of Erin Watters, Lauren Haines, Nicole Orcutt and Savanna Sibley won first place over all national divisions, while the HPU All-Girl Stunt Group consisting of Tara O'Sullivan, Lauren Loeb, Chelsey Kannan and Heather Turner placed second over all national divisions.

Even HPU's mascot "Sharky the Sea Warrior" got in the action, placing second among all national divisions.

The Cheer and Dance Collegiate Championship is the world's largest event with teams from Mexico, Japan and Canada and across the United States.

BYUH CRUISES TO TITLE

Tired, limping, and homesick, the No. 1 Brigham Young-Hawai'i women's tennis team shrugged off the effects of its longest road trip ever to win the Hawaiian Air Pacific West Conference Tournament in St. George, Utah, this weekend.

The Seasiders sat out their first-round bye on Thursday, then routed Chaminade, 9-0, on Friday to advance to the finals against rival HPU.

BYUH won two of three doubles matches and all three of the completed singles matches to win the championship. With the win, BYUH improved to 25-0 this season and extended its consecutive win streak to 85.

The championship capped a grueling 15-day road trip that found the Seasiders blowing out opponents from Florida to Utah.

"This was the first time that the conference championships came so close to when we were on the Mainland," said head coach Dave Porter. "We couldn't afford to make two trips, so we just stayed on the road."

In all, the team has played (and won) 19 matches in the last four weeks. And, to be sure, the players felt the effects — even if they didn't show it on the court.

Senior Ramona Husaru, who underwent surgery to repair a damaged rotator cuff last summer, has yet to return to full form. Still, she teamed with freshman Becky Lu to defeat Anastasia Ageychik and Nina Mihova, 8-4, in the championships.

Lu, the team's No. 4 singles player, and No. 2 Maggie Deng have both been taking acupuncture treatments to alleviate lingering shoulder problems.

Scariest of all, perhaps, was the knee strain suffered during a practice that left Elwen Li, the nation's No. 1 singles player, limping into the tournament. The injury didn't stop Li from sweeping HPU's Ingrid Cseh 6-0, 6-0 and teaming with Deng for an 8-1 win over Cseh and Lauren Shin.

For all of its gaudy accomplishments, Porter's team on paper hardly looks like an 800-pound gorilla. Husaru is the lone senior on the squad. Li is a freshman, as are regular starters Lu, Jenny Chin and Ayako Ikeda. Deng is a sophomore.

Still, Porter said the overall youth of the squad may serve as a buffer against the complacency that can trip a dominant team.

"For our freshmen, every experience is a new one — the first road trip, the first conference championship," Porter said. "It's easier to keep them focused. In some ways it's worked out OK because they're so young.

"We have a group of hard-working kids," he said. "It's hard to play as the defending champion, and with the winning streak that we have. Our freshmen have only been here for a few months. I'm excited to see how they'll perform under pressure. It doesn't matter if we don't even make it out of the regionals, they've worked hard to be in the hunt for a championship."

Yet, even Porter admits that his squad is a cut above the rest of the conference, though "each team has outstanding players at certain positions."

For Porter, keeping players sharp against less-than-elite competition comes down to an admittedly odd approach for a team sport: He asks his players to concentrate on their individual games, not the team score.

"I tell them to concentrate on their individual performance and what they have to do," he said. "At regionals and nationals, we'll be facing the best in the country, and they can't assume that other (positions) will automatically win their matches," he said.

The NCAA Division II regionals begin on May 8.