ISLE FILE
Neils earns sectional tennis award
Advertiser Staff
Part-time Kaimuki resident Herbert Neils will receive a lifetime service award from the Intermountain Section of the U.S. Tennis Association at its annual meeting in Las Vegas in March.
Neils lives here in the winter. His wife, Pat, teaches at Leeward Community College. They also live in Libby, Mont.
He is the recipient of the 2007 David Freed Award. Freed served the Intermountain Section for 39 years, helping grow the game in Utah and throughout the section. As a sectional honoree, Neils is eligible for the national award, called the USTA Samuel Hardy Award.
Neils, 82, built a six-court tennis club in Libby and has mentored hundreds of young players in Montana and here, most notably at Diamond Head Tennis Center. He has worked with the Libby High School team and his local Montana community since 1965, and also was involved with Billie Jean King's national Tennis America program. He has also taught in China and Samoa, and was tournament director for an event in Nairobi.
Neils played for the University of Montana where his college coach became his mentor. He has won age-group events in his district and played overseas.
MORE TENNIS
CITY TO RUN USTA 18'S
The City & County of Honolulu and the USTA Hawai'i Pacific Section have taken over administration of the USTA Boys and Girls 18's National Open. The tournament will still be at Central O'ahu Regional Park, Feb. 16 to 20.
SPADEA IN TITLE MATCH
American Vincent Spadea advanced to the men's finals of the USTA Waikoloa Challenger on the Big Island by defeating Argentina's Leonardo Mayer, 6-4, 6-3, yesterday.
Spadea, the No. 2 seed, will face Taiwan's Yen-Hsun Lu today for the title at the Kohala Tennis, Hilton Waikoloa Village. Lu, the No. 6 seed, beat Switzerland's Stephane Bohli, 6-2, 7-5.
Germany's Sandra Kloesel will play Japan's Rika Fujiwara for the women's title today. Kloesel, the No. 7 seed, beat Slovakia's Magdalena Rybarikova, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4. Fujiwara defeated Italy's Corinna Dentoni, 6-1, 6-3.
Meanwhile, the top-seeded American duo of Scott Lipsky and David Martin won the men's doubles title, defeating Japan's Satoshi Iwabuchi and Go Soeda, 6-4, 5-7, 10-7.
Fourth-seeded Maria-Fernanda Alves, of Brazil, and Bettina Jozami, of Argentina, beat Americans Angela Haynes and Mashona Washington, 7-5, 6-4, to win the women's doubles title.
BODYSURFING
PIPELINE EVENT BEGINS
The holding period for the 36th annual Honolua Surf Company Pipeline Bodysurfing Classic begins today and will run through Feb. 6 on the North Shore of O'ahu.
The preferred conditions for this event will be 6- to 8-foot (12- to 15-foot faces) west to northwest swell with favorable offshore winds.
The event features 60 competitors; 48 open spots and 12 seeded spots.
For surf information on the event, call 638-7874.
BASEBALL
KAILUA WINS OIA JV
Alika Ramseyer-Ho doubled, homered and drove in three runs as Kailua rallied past Moanalua, 10-6, to win the O'ahu Interscholastic Association junior varsity baseball championship yesterday at Moanalua.
Kailua starting pitcher Bryson Dymond and winning reliever Ryan McMonigle spaced 11 hits in the victory.
Kailua (11-1) scored two runs in the top of the sixth inning to tie the game at six, and broke the deadlock with four runs in the ninth against Moanalua (10-2).
Kailua's Elia Lono tripled and had two RBIs, and Tyson Lono doubled and drove in a run.
James Higa led Moanalua with two doubles.
