Novak wins $50,000 for surf move

Hawaii’s Flynn Novak just got a bit richer.

Novak won the Kustom Airstrike and the $50,000 first prize.

The surf contest is given annually to contestants who create the most innovative aerial maneuver.

Flynn won the award for what he calls the "Flynnstone Flip," in which he does a full flip in the air on his board on a wave and returns — usually — upright onto the wave.

3 from Hawaii make sectional cut

Three of four Hawaii players made the cut at the LPGA Sectional Qualifier yesterday at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif.

Sacred Hearts graduate Ayaka Kaneko (72-72) is at even-par 144 and has a share of 19th going into today’s third round. Maui’s Shayna Miyajima (76-73) and the Big Island’s Kimberly Kim (71-78) are tied for 51st at 149.

Kamehameha and Stanford graduate Mari Chun (79-83–162) missed the 36-hole cut, which came at 151.

The California sectional is the first of two sectional Q-Schools to determine the field of the LPGA’s Final Qualifying Tournament in December. The top 30 and ties after tomorrow’s final round advance.

Fun tennis showdown at UH

UH Tennis Campus Showdown will be hosted by the University of Hawaii women’s tennis team Saturday at the UH Tennis Complex. The open tournament begins at 2 p.m.

The showdown is a one-day, short-format tennis tournament open to juniors, college players, professionals and adults. The tournament serves as a player-development program for the USTA and is run on college campuses across the nation during the fall.

The purpose of the event is to give junior and college players opportunities for more competition and help build stronger ties between college programs and the local tennis community.

To enter the tournament, e-mail your name, age and skill level (beginner, intermediate, advanced or professional) to UH assistant women’s coach Bridgette Strickland at bs32@hawaii.edu. The entry fee is $1 for singles and $2 for doubles, and the entry deadline is today.

The team also will host Ace To Success, a series of mentoring programs for Hawaii kids. The USTA program encourages juniors to bring homework to work on with the UH team. That is followed by court time, with food and drinks at the end.

The program will have three dates this fall — Oct. 6, Nov. 10 and Dec. 1. To participate, or for more information, contact Strickland at bs32@hawaii.edu.