Bears advance to state soccer quarterfinals

By Fred Guzman

ESPN550.com

 

All three of the MIL qualifiers for the state high school boys soccer tournaments will be in action today.

 

That was assured when Baldwin earned a berth in the quarterfinal round of the Division-I tourney with a dramatic 1-0 win over Aiea yesterday at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex.

 

The Bears dominated the match in terms of time of possession and shots on goal, but were unable to capitalize on those advantages for most of the match.  But freshman midfielder Jaren Otani ran down a pass and hammered a six-yard shot into the back of the net with eight minutes left in the first-round match.

 

Baldwin then had to survive a huge scare in the waning minutes as senior goalkeeper Leo Fayt made back-to-back saves on a breakaway situation to save the victory and enable Baldwin secure a berth against second-seeded Kapolei.  The match is scheduled for a 5 p.m. kickoff at the Main Stadium at Waipio.

 

King Kekaulike and St. Anthony were seeded fourth in their respective divisions and drew first-round byes.

 

Kekaulike will play at D-I match at 1 p.m. at the stadium against Kaiser, which advanced with a 4-3 overtime win over Waiakea.

 

In other D-I results, Punahou needed overtime for a 2-1 comeback win over Roosevelt and Mililani scored both of its goals in the final eight minutes for a 2-0 win over Moanalua.  Punahou next faces No. 3 Hilo and Mililani meets top-seeded Kamehameha-Oahu.

 

The eight-team D-II tournament kicks off today. St. Anthony will open its bid against Mid-Pacific at 3 o'clock.  In other match-ups:  No. 1 Honokaa faces Radford, No. 2 Kapaa meets Konawaena and No. 3 Waipahu tangles with Hawaii Prep.

 

YOUTH SOCCER:  The Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex also was the site for the past weekend's President's Day Cup youth tournament, with a team from the Valley Isle bringing home a championship.

 

The Maui United Soccer Club 1999 Red took top honors in the under-12 boys division with a 2-0 victory over Rush 99 Nike in the final to finish the tournament with a 6-0 record, outscoring their opponents 17-2 en route to their second straight PDC title.

 

United's goals came in the second minute by Angelo Deloso-Flacco and in the 47^th by Noa Harrisson.

 

Two other Maui United boys teams won their respective pools and reached the semis only to be eliminated by eventual champions. 

 

The MUSC 99 White was defeated by Rush 99 Nike, 2-0, in the under-12 division, finishing with a 4-1 mark.  MUSC 2002 lost 3-1 to the Bulls Kaula. 

 

Two other Valley Isle teams reached the semis. 

 

Pono 99, competing in the under-11 girls division, was ousted following a 1-0 loss to Blitz Orange and the under-10 Wailuku Bruiser boys were beaten 3-2 by Bulls 2001

 

MIL SOFTBALL:  Members of the Lahainaluna softball team feel they let one get away last year, when arch-rival Baldwin staged a late rally in the regular-season finale to capture its seventh straight MIL title.

 

The Lunas partly avenged the setback in impressive fashion yesterday with a season-opening 11-4 spanking of the Bears. 

 

Hope Morikawa went the distance for the pitching victory and the Lunas erupted for six runs in the sixth inning to secure the win.  Brenna Nakamura had a two-run triple for the Lunas.

 

Kekaulike opened its campaign with a 7-2 road win over Maui High as Karlee-Rose Perry allowed four hits and struck out eight for Na Alii.

 

Maui fans pack War Memorial for UH volleyball win

By Fred Guzman

 

Take a bow, Maui fans.  You were the real winners on Saturday night.  As a result of your enthusiastic support, don't be at all surpised if the Valley Isle ends up hosting additional University of Hawaii athletic events in the future.

 

A loud, ti leaf-waving overflow crowd of 2,047 fans packed War Memorial Gym, providing inspiration for the Hawaii men in an error-filled but exciting 26-24, 18-25, 25-19, 25-20 non-conference volleyball victory over California Baptist.

 

Adding to the great atmosphere was the presence of a travel party that included cheerleaders, promotions and announcers that are part of matches at the Stan Sheriff Center, with the Maui High band capable filling in for their UH counterparts.

 

Hawaii coach Charlie Wade described the environment as "great," and he wasn't merely being polite.  The sentiment was shared and expressed by players on both teams.

 

Possibly because of the reduced space behind one of the end lines, the teams struggled with their serves.  There were a total of 41 service errots, including 23 by Hawaii.

 

Still, UH managed to come up with the big plays when they most mattered to sweep a the series against the defending NAIA national champs.  Hawaii won Friday's match at The Stanley in three games.

 

Leading UH were Jonas Umlauft with 20 kills, Joshua Walker with 17 and defensive specialist  Nick Castello came up with nine digs.

 

UH SOFTBALL: Eighth-ranked Hawaii opened the softball season in impressive fashion, winning all five games in the Paradise Classic. 

 

The Rainbow Wahine closed out the tournament on Saturday with a 5-1 win over Southern Utah thanks to a grandslam by Melissa Gonzalez and completed the title run with an 8-0 mercy-rule victory over UC Davis as Stephanie Ricketts posted her third win of the event. 

 

UH, most noted for its power-hitting prowess after slugging a national-record 158 homers last season, posted a team ERA of 0.44 while holding its five opponents to a .143 batting average.  Hawaii outscored its opponents 32-3.

 

The Wahine close their season-opening homestand today against Texas State at 5 p.m. before traveling to Las Vegas to take part in the high-profile Desert Classic that starts on Friday followed by another major tournament in Southern California.

 

UH HOOPS: The UH men return to action tonight, hosting Nevada.  Following an 0-5 start in the conference, Hawaii has won four of its last six WAC games and are seventh in the league.  The top eight teams qualify for the WAC tournament.

 

WAHINE HOOPS:  Following a pair of encouraging home wins, Hawaii shot a dismal 23.3 percent from the field and suffered its most lopsided loss of the WAC season when it was beaten 69-42 at Nevada.  The loss dropped UH to 8-16 overall and 2-9 in the WAC. UH dropped into a tie with Boise State for eighth place with five regular-season games remaining. The last-place school among nine WAC teams is left home from the WAC tournament in Las Vegas next month.  The Wahine, who has lost 18 straight away games, remains on the road for games at NMS on Tuesday and at league-leading LaTech on Thursday.

 

UH BASEBALL: Hawaii opens its season on Friday with the first of a four-game series against Oregon, ranked No. 9 in the Collegiate Baseball preseason Top 40 poll. The Rainbows are No. 38.

Plan in works for all-UH TV sports channel

By Fred Guzman

 

You may have heard the old saying about when one door closes, another opens.  Such could be the case regarding televised sports at the University of Hawaii.

 

The status of its lucrative pay-per-view package is in jeopardy as Hawaii transitions out of the Western Athletic Conference and into the Mountain West for football and the Big West for most other sports.

 

UH athletic administrators are working on a plan that could complement or replace its current TV arrangements.

 

The Star-Advertiser is reporting that Oceanic Time Warner Cable is moving toward the creation of all-University of Hawaii channel on its statewide system that could be operational as soon as this fall.

 

Oceanic's current contract with UH runs through 2014 and guarantees UH a minimum of $2.3 million per year plus a share of revenues past certain thresholds. The contract calls for UH to receive $500,000 from KFVE and the balance from Oceanic.

 

But the future role — if any — of KFVE, which has been part of UH sports for nearly 30 years, is said to be undecided, according to the Star-Bulletin.   KFVE has partnered with Oceanic on pay-per-view since 2002.  That arrangement is under negotiation.

 

While things would likely be little changed in the Big West, both UH and Oceanic are awaiting word from the Mountain West whether pay-per-view, as we currently know it, will continue.

Lunas, Farmers girls seeded second at state hoops

By Fred Guzman

ESPN550.com

 

A pair of MIL teams have been seeded second in the state girls basketball tournaments that tip off Tuesday on Oahu. 

 

That means Lahainaluna in Division-I and Molokai in D-II will draw first-round byes before beginning their bids on Wednesday.

 

King Kekaulike, the MIL D-I runnerup, opens against Kaiser on Tuesday in a 5 p.m. game at McKinley High.  The winner of that game faces top-seeded Konawaena.

 

Lahainaluna will open defense of its state title against the winner of Kapolei versus Pearl City in Wednesday's 5 p.m. game at Radford High.

 

Punahou is seeded third and Farrington fourth.

 

Molokai is the only MIL entry in D-II.  The Lady Farmers won the title in 2009 and finished second last season.  They will face the winner of Waianae versus Maryknoll in a 7 p.m. game Wednesday at Kaimuki High.

 

Radford is the top seed in D-II, with Kamehameha-Hawaii ranked third and Kapaa fourth.

 

On Saturday, reigning state player of the year Maiki Viela scored 35 points as the Lunas defeated Molokai 60-41 in a special non-league game between the MIL's two title teams.

 

MIL BOYS:  The MIL boys tip off their league tournaments on Wednesday at the Baldwin High gym. 

 

The Bears raised their hopes for the overall league title by handing Lahainaluna its first MIL loss of the season with a 61-55 victory on Saturday before a big, noisy crowd at the Lahaina Civic Center.

 

Gabe Ross scord 19 points and Tim Pang added 18 for the Bears, who avenged a pair of earlier losses to the Lunas..

 

Seabury Hall closed out a perfect D-II campaign by posting weekend wins of 58-38 and 53-35 over Molokai, but the Spartans apparently lost high-scoring Phelan Pagano to a season-ending knee injury.

 

SOCCER:  Each of the contending teams have two games left in their respective MIL boys soccer schedules, and still no one has even assured themselves of a spot in the state tournament.  Here's where things stand: 

 

Baldwin, which survived a furious comeback at Kamehameha-Maui on Friday for a 3-2 win, is in first place with 21 points. 

 

Lahainaluna, which routed St. Anthony 4-1 on Saturday behind a hat-trick by Jorge Hernandez, is second with 20 points. 

 

King Kekaulike dropped to third with 19 points after playing to a 1-1 tie with Maui High, which is fourth and barely alive mathematically for a post-season berth with 15 points.  Logan Bantilan accounted for Kekaulike's goal, while Justice Florendo-Bourne scored the tying goal midway through the second half.

 

That sets up some huge matches this week.  Kekaulike visits Baldwin for a 7 p.m. game on Tuesday.  On Thursday, Seabury visits Kekaulike and Maui High travels to Kamehameha.

 

In girls' action, Baldwin took a major step toward repeating as D-I champion thanks to a 0-0 tie with Kamehameha on Friday followed by a 9-0 romp past Hana on Saturday. 

 

Kekaulike was eliminated from post-season contention following a 3-0 loss to Maui High.  In D-II, Seabury Hall and St. Anthony have clinched spots in the state tournament.

 

MORE MIL:  In paddling, Seabury won the boys and mixed titles and finished second in the girls competition to Molokai. … In wrestling,  Lahainaluna's boys and girls continued their domination by capturing 16 of 20 weight classes in the final tuneup before the upcoming MIL championships.

Na Alii, Trojans post big soccer victories

By Fred Guzman

ESPN550.com

 

All four teams involved desperately needed to win their respective MIL boys soccer matches yesterday.

 

When all was said and done, King Kekaulike and St. Anthony emerged with huge victories while Seabury Hall and Maui High suffered key setbacks.

 

Bouncing back from a slow start to its season, King Kekaulike routed upcountry rival Seabury Hall 4-0 in Olinda, improving to 5-3 overall for 15 points and moving to within one point of idle Division-I leader Lahainaluna. 

 

Na Alii scored all of its goals in the first half, with Kaimana Purdy, Logan Bantilan, Taylor DeGuerra and Brison Ino finding the back of the net within the opening 30 minutes of action.

 

Later at War Memorial Stadium, first-half goals by Chris and Gerry Maeda lifted St. Anthony to a 2-0 victory over Maui High.

 

St. Anthony improved to 4-5 for 12 points and a three-point lead over Seabury in the D-II standings.  Maui High fell 3-3-2 for 11 points and finds itself four points behind the Lunas in the D-I standings.

 

In girls action last night, Maui High beat St. Anthony 4-0 on goals by Chelsey Calvert, Rachel Rivas, Tiana Lucas and Shauni Okazaki.

 

PREP HOOPS:  The MIL girls' basketball tournaments tip off semifinal action tonight with three games in two divisions at the Kamehameha-Maui gym.

 

At 4 p.m., Seabury Hall will tangle with Lanai in a Division-II game.  The winner will face regular-season champion Molokai High in Friday's D-II title game at 5:30.

 

In Division-I action, top-seeded Lahainaluna will meet Kamehameha-Maui at 5:30. 

 

The Lunas are the state's fourth-ranked team and have not been remotely tested so far in MIL competition.  Kamehameha earned a berth in the semis by beating Baldwin 37-27 behind a 12-point effort from Tori Cambra.

 

At 7 o'clock, King Kekaulike and Maui High will meet in the other semifinal.  Kekaulike finished second to the Lunas in the regular-season standings.

 

The D-I title game is set for 7 p.m. tomorrow.

Favorable weather conditions benefit golfers at Kapalua

By Fred Guzman

ESPN550.com

 

By customary standards, the at-times treacherous Plantation Course at Kapalua was a soft touch during yesterday's opening round of the Hyundai Tournament of Champions.

 

An early-morning downpour coupled with lower-than-usual tradewinds proved a bonanza for the all-winners field in the first event of the PGA Tour season.

 

Unable to capitalize on the player-friendly conditions was two-time defending champion Geoff Ogilvy. 

 

The Australian had to pull out of the event after suffering a nasty gash to his right index finger following a close encounter with coral while taking a dip in the ocean in the day before.  The wound required 12 stitches and prevented Ogilvy from adequately gripping his clubs.

 

That opened the door for Jonathan Byrd and Carl Petterson to take the early lead with 7-under par 66s.  Ben Crane trailed the co-leaders by one stroke, with Jim Furyk, Bill Haas and Charley Hoffman two strokes back.

 

In fact, only two players -- Justin Rose with a 75 and Rocco Mediate with a 79 – failed to break par in the field of 33 golfers.  The average scored on the PGA Tour's only par-73 layout was 70.5.

 

That, of course, could all change with drier greens and higher winds in an event that runs through Sunday and is being televised on the Golf Channel.

 

MIL ROUNDUP:  Defending champion Seabury Hall opened its MIL Division-II campaign with a decisive 70-51 victory over visiting St. Anthony.  Phelan Pagano's 21 points led Seabury, who also benefited from Dylan King's 14.  Jarrett Stinger's 21 led the Trojans.

 

Baldwin posted a pair of victories as the expense of visiting Kamehameha-Maui. 

 

The Lady Bears open the double-header at the Baldwin gym by holding off the Warriors for 33-28 win.  Kristina Edgamin scored 13 for the Bears, while Tori Cambra's 12 led Kamehameha.

 

In the nightcap, Baldwin capitalized on double-digit production for a pair of players not particularly noted for their scoring. 

 

Senior starting forward Kona Sarmiento had 14 and reserve forward Adrian Garces 12 for the Bears, who improved to 5-1 and kept pace with Lahainaluna in the D-I standings. Kawika Kong's seven points led the Warriors.

 

In MIL basketball action today, the Lahainaluna boys and girls play host to Maui High.

 

UH ROUNDUP:  Losing its first two WAC games on the road was almost predictable considering that UH teams are not particularly noted for being road Warriors.  But after a promising start to the season, the return of their top player and playing at home, much more was expected of the Hawaii men's basketball team last night.

 

Instead of flourishing, the Rainbows floundered, shooting a dismal 29 percent from the field in a 59-44 loss to Idaho at the Stan Sheriff Center.  UH made just 3 of 22 shots from behind the arc, including 0-for-12 in the second half.  As a result, Hawaii was held to its lowest point total in a dozen years while falling to 0-3 in the WAC and to 9-6 overall. 

 

The return of senior forward Bill Amis didn't help UH nearly as much as expected.  Showing some rust after a 10-game layoff because of a lingering foot injury, Amis made 2 of 7 shots and had two rebounds in 29 minutes. Even with Amis back, UH again struggled on the boards and were out-rebounded, 40-28. 

 

Now, UH must try to rebound against Boise State, which escaped from San Jose State with a 102-101 quadruple-overtime victory.  The Broncos will bring records of 10-5 overall and 3-0 in the WAC to The Stanley.

 

WAHINE LOSE:  In the first game of a double-header, the Rainbow Wahine played about as poorly as their male counterparts in the suffering a 74-58 conference-opening home loss to New Mexico State.  The Lady Aggies had four players score in double figures while UH struggled with foul problems and turnovers in dropping to 6-8 overall and 0-1 in the WAC. 

 

UH trailed by only three points, 36-33, at halftime but fell apart in the second half. Keisha Kanekoa led the Wahine with 17 points and Kamilah Jackson added 12.  Kanekoa now has 1,040 career points, passing Tondi Redden for 14^th place on the UH all-tme list.  Jade Abele is No. 13 with 1,057.

 

Next for Hawaii is a Saturday game againt LaTech,, which is coming off a 69-34 blowout at San Jose State.

Error-prone Hawaii gift-wraps win for Tulsa

By Fred Guzman

ESPN550.com

 

It's one thing to lose a game.  It's quite another to loss at home in such inept fashion as did Hawaii on Christmas Eve.

 

Playing the role of Santa, UH gave away six turnovers to gift-wrap a 62-35 victory for Tulsa before more than 41,000 stunned fans at Aloha Stadium and a national TV audience in a game lasting an excruciating 3 hours, 54 minutes.

 

The ugly performance – filled with turnovers, penalties and defensive breakdowns – left a negative last impression to an otherwise excellent season for a Hawaii team that earned 10 wins, a WAC co-championship and a No. 24 national ranking coming into the game.

 

After keeping Hawaii in the game for most of the first half, UH's defensive unit ran out of gas against a high-tempo Tulsa attack.

 

Hawaii actually out-gained Tulsa 479-343 with quarterback Bryant Moniz thowing for 411 yards and three touchdowns.  Greg Salas had 13 catches for 213 yards and two scores. 

 

But those stats don't reflect the five picks, a fumble recovery following a muff by Salas on a punt return and the six sacks that enabled the Golden Hurricane to storm past Hawaii.

 

Damaris Johnson led the way for Tulsa by amassing 326 yards in combined yardage – 98 on five carries, 101 on four catches and another 127 on returns with two scores.

 

DIAMOND HEAD:  The Hawaii basketball team can take a lot of consolation – literally and figuratively -- from its performance during the Diamond Head Classic.

 

By defeating Mississippi State 68-57 in Saturday's fifth-place game for the consolation title, Hawaii improved its season record to 9-3 going into a pair of tough WAC-opening road games this week at defending champion Utah State and Nevada.

 

Butler, last year's national runnerup, took the tourneytitle by topping  Washington State 84-68.

 

Hawaii opened with a 12-0 run and led by as many as 22 in the second half against Mississippi State, which was missing two key players who were suspended after engaging in a fist-fight in full view of fans and cameras at the Stan Sheriff Center.

 

Zane Johnson continued his hot shooting, leading the Bows with 19 points.  Hiram Thompson went 9-for-10 from the free-throw line and finished with 14. 

 

After opening the tourney with a loss to Florida State, the Bows rebounded with decisive wins over Utah and the battling Bulldogs.

 

UH sophomore Miah Ostrowski made his college hoops debut less than 24 hours after playing in the Hawaii Bowl.  The former Punahou two-sport star caught two passes for 72 yards against Tulsa. He didn't score in two minutes of action against Mississippi State.