Rainbow Wahine back at No. 5

Hawaii returned to fifth in the AVCA Volleyball Coaches Top 25 yesterday after a week in sixth place.

The Rainbow Wahine raised their record to 14-1 overall and 4-0 in the Western Athletic Conference with two wins last week. Their only loss this year was to Southern California. The Trojans dropped from fifth to eighth this week after losing at Washington. USC rallied from a two-set deficit at UW, only to fall 15-5 in the fifth, collecting just one kill.

Stanford (13-0) is a unanimous No. 1, followed by Florida, Nebraska and Penn State. No other WAC teams received votes this week after Utah State lost to San Jose State on Saturday.

The Spartans, picked to finish last by conference coaches, won in Logan, Utah, for the first time since 1995. Brianna Amian, an SJSU junior from Kaneohe, had 11 kills and four blocks.

Hawaii doesn’t play again until SJSU (7-10, 2-2 WAC) comes to the Stan Sheriff Center on Oct. 15.

Wahine’s Punzal out for season

Hawaii soccer co-captain Mari Punzal will miss the rest of her senior season after suffering a torn ACL in her left knee against Idaho on Sunday, UH announced yesterday.

Punzal, a two-time All-Western Athletic Conference midfielder, is tied for the team lead in goals (three) and assists (two). She went down while jostling for the ball at midfield with about 15 minutes to play.

The injury is effectively a career-ender at UH for Punzal, who played in too many games this season to redshirt. She finishes with 11 career goals and 10 career assists.

UH coach Pinsoom Tenzing said after the 3-1 loss to the Vandals that going forward he will have to play two forwards without Punzal in the lineup. The Kamehameha graduate had alternately played at midfield and as a lone forward.

It’s a harsh loss for the young Rainbow Wahine (2-10-1, 0-2 WAC), who’ve struggled even with Punzal’s ability to dominate balls in the air and in traffic.

"I feel like we’ve been regrouping the entire season, and trying to figure out what to do next," said senior midfielder Lauren Ho after the Idaho game. "We’ll just have to accommodate for that huge loss."

UH heads to San Jose State and Fresno State for conference matches on Friday and Sunday. UH has six WAC games remaining to improve its standing and qualify for the WAC tournament with a top-six finish.

Wilson qualifies for PGA Tour event

Kaneohe’s Dean Wilson fired a 5-under-par 66 yesterday to qualify for this week’s inaugural McGladrey Classic. The second event of the PGA Tour Fall Series starts Thursday at the Sea Island Seaside Course in Georgia.

Honolulu’s Tadd Fujikawa shot a 69 and missed the playoff for the final spot by two shots.

Monday qualifying was held at Sanctuary Cove Golf Club in Woodbine, Ga. Fujikawa’s coaches are based at Sea Island.

The Moanalua graduate’s next event is the PGA Tour’s first-stage qualifying, Oct. 19-22 at The Club at Irish Creek, in Kannapolis, N.C. There are 12 first-stage sites, including Turtle Bay Resort, Oct. 26-29.

Lim wins 2 tennis championships

Four-time Hawaii state high school tennis champion Kristin Lim swept to the singles and doubles titles at the USTA/ITA Small College West Coast Regional Championships for Division III on Sunday.

The tournament was played at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center on the campus of Claremont Mudd Scripps (Calif.), where Lim is a sophomore. She started her collegiate career at Cornell.

Lim won the 2006 state doubles title as a Punahou freshman, then captured the next three state singles titles. She was seeded sixth at regionals.

Lim took out top-seeded defending champion Elizabeth Lewis, from Chapman, in a quarterfinal, 6-0, 6-3. In the final, Lim lost her only set of the tournament to second-seeded Jamie Solomon, from Pomona-Pitzer, then rallied to win 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Lim and her partner, Crystal Lim, captured the doubles title. They beat top seeds Solomon and Kara Wang 8-4, then overcame second seeds Lewis and Kelley Fox 6-1, 6-1, in the final.

Both Lims advance to Small College National Championships in Alabama, Oct. 15-17.

Mililani graduate Adrienne Hamada, a freshman at Whittier, reached the quarterfinals before falling to Lewis, 6-2, 6-1.

Hawaii’s Lajola and Tweedt eliminated

Hawaii’s Dennis Lajola took Baylor’s Luis Grangeiro to three sets, but lost 6-7 (7), 6-4, 7-6 (3) in the D’Novo/ITA All-American Championships qualifier at Tulsa, Okla., yesterday.

A day earlier in the tournament, Nebraska’s Benedikt Lindheim defeated Hawaii’s Jeremy Tweedt 6-1, 7-6.

Jaquias, Layer, Smith advance

Hawaii’s Kaimana Jaquias, Albee Layer and Alex Smith advanced with second-round victories at the Oakley World Pro Junior surf contest in Bali, Indonesia, yesterday.

Jaquias and Smith join Hawaii’s Kiron Jabour, Keanu Asing and Granger Larsen in the third round of the Association of Surfing Professionals World Junior Tour event.

In the Oakley World Pro Junior Girls contest yesterday, Hawaii’s Malia Manuel beat Pauline Ado of France to advance to the quarterfinals.

Hawaii’s Leila Hurst was eliminated in a loss to France’s Alizee Arnaud.

2 judoka earn golds at Pan Ams

Honolulu’s Teshya Alo and Cole Chandler won gold for Team USA at the Pan American U-15 Championships on Saturday in Panama City, Panama.

Following younger sister Teniya Alo’s gold Friday in the U-13 31kg division, Teshya Alo won her 44kg division. The Pearl City Hongwanji judoka spent less than 2 minutes on the mat in winning three matches, including a 14-second ippon (instant win) over Panama’s Darlen Puga to open the competition.

Chandler, who fights out of Hawaii Tenri, won the boys 44kg division. The final against Brazil’s Rodrigo Makiyama went to referees’ decision following overtime, with Chandler awarded the victory.

Also, Honolulu’s Noah Pineda-Abaya (Hawaii Tenri) lost to Puerto Rico’s Steven Gonzalez in the boys 48kg final and Cassidy Chandler (Hawaii Tenri) took the bronze in girls 53kg.