The University of Hawai'i-Hilo golf team's impressive come-from-behind win at the Hawaiian Airlines PacWest Men's Golf Championship last week resonated well beyond the greens of Turtle Bay.

The victory, coupled with a fourth-place finish by the Vulcans softball team, also decided the first-ever PacWest Commissioner's Cup race.

The award is given to the top athletic program in the conference, as determined by the success of each program it fields.

Schools were awarded points based on their order of finish in the conference schedule for soccer, basketball, softball and volleyball, and on final conference championship rankings for cross country, tennis and golf.

The nose-to-nose race between UH-Hilo and Brigham Young-Hawai'i wasn't decided until the final week for golf and softball.

The UH-Hilo golf team trailed by three strokes heading into the final day of the tournament but shot an aggregate 293 for a three-day total of 902 on the par-72 course.

Defending champion Grand Canyon finished six strokes behind, while Dixie State pulled ahead of Notre Dame de Namur for third place.

UH-Hilo's Zady Ari took top individual honors, recovering from a 76-stroke first day with consecutive rounds of 73. His three-day total of 222 tied Grand Canyon's Terrence Daniels.

Ari and Daniels played a sudden-death playoff on the 18th hole, with Ari eventually prevailing after chipping in a shot from 80 yards out for eagle.

Ari's teammates Logan Goulding, Isaac Jaffurs and Jesus Valdivia finished sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively.

The Vulcans earned seven points toward the Cup by winning the golf championship; BYUH was credited with three points for its fifth-place finish. That proved to be the winning margin as the Vulcans athletic department outpointed its Seasiders counterpart, 52-48, to capture the honor.

UH-Hilo won conference titles in golf, cross country and volleyball, and finished no lower than fourth in the seven other sports in which it competes.

BYUH boasts conference champions in women's soccer and women's tennis, and placed second in volleyball, women's cross country and men's basketball.

Baseball, which does not become an official conference sport until next year, was not included in the tabulations.

FIT TO BE SNUBBED

The Hawai'i Pacific softball team is bracing for a disappointing if seemingly inevitable end to their storybook season.

The Sea Warriors finished their regular season in style, notching 18 consecutive wins for a perfect April and a 43-5-1 overall record.

Still, the Sea Warriors expect to be left out when regional tournament seedings are announced on Sunday.