2 locals advance in LPGA qualifying
Hawaii’s Shayna Miyajima and Stephanie Kono both finished in the top 20 to easily advance from the LPGA Stage II Qualifying Tournament, which ended Friday in Venice, Fla.
Miyajima tied for 13th, shooting even-par 72 in the fourth round to finish at 4-under 284. She was 12 shots out of first. Miyajima won the 1999 state high school championship when she was a junior at Baldwin High. She played for San Diego State before moving to the Futures Tour.
Kono, a senior at UCLA playing as an amateur, closed with her third straight 71. She earned a share of 18th at 2-under 286. Kono, a Punahou graduate, won the 2006 state high school championship and is a three-time All-American at UCLA.
The top 70 and ties advance to the LPGA’s Final Qualifying Tournament (Stage III), Nov. 30-Dec. 5 in Daytona Beach, Fla.
Ex-Isle stars Low, Pape to play overseas
Former Hawaii prep stars Derrick Low and Kyle Pape have signed to play for East European countries for the 2011-12 season.
Low, who starred at ‘Iolani and Washington State, will play for Dnipro of Ukraine in the VTB United League. Low played for Maccabi Haifa in Israel last season.
Pape’s first professional contract will be with BC Caspiy Aktau in Kazakhstan. Pape was a standout at ‘Iolani and played four years at NCAA Division II Colorado School of Mines.
Low and Pape’s teams can be followed at eurobasket.com.
World Paddle Expo on Sunday
The second World Paddle Expo, a benefit for the Hawaii Canoe/Kayak Team, is scheduled for Sunday at the University Avenue end of the Ala Wai Canal.
Competition is in kayak, surfski, OC1, V1, paddleboard and stand-up paddleboard over 200 meters. Divisions include under-14, under-18, open and elite for males and females.
Late registration is available at the site at 8 a.m. Information is available at worldpaddleexpo.com.
BYUH volleyball tops Grand Canyon
Freshman Stella Chen had 18 kills and 17 digs to lead Brigham Young-Hawaii over Grand Canyon in a Pacific West Conference volleyball match in Phoenix on Friday.
The Seasiders won 25-22, 25-20, 21-25, 25-16 to improve to 7-3 for the season and 4-1 in conference. Junior Lauren Hagemeyer had 16 kills and hit .324, senior Aika Becker had 12 kills and Losaline Pula 35 digs for BYUH.
The Antelopes fell to 8-5 and 2-3.
UH-Hilo sweeps California Baptist
Senior middle hitter Hillary Hurley provided 26 of her team’s 45 kills and hit .358 to lead Hawaii-Hilo to a 25-20, 25-22, 25-20 victory over California Baptist in Pacific West Conference volleyball in Riverside, Calif.
The Vulcans are 11-2 overall and 7-2 in conference. The Lancers are 7-6 and 1-2.
BYUH’s Hwang, Liu dominate
Brigham Young-Hawaii’s Annie Hwang and Sherry Liu swept their matches Friday in the USTA-ITA West Regional Tennis Tournament in Los Angeles, advancing to the semifinals in singles and to the finals in doubles.
The top-seeded Hwang posted 6-0, 6-0 victories over Gabby Verspieren of Dominican and Megan White of Sonoma State. Liu beat Grand Canyon’s Frederique Van de Velde and Justine Majan by identical 6-4, 6-0 scores.
Hwang and Liu paired for 8-0 victories over UC San Diego’s Tara Vanootgehm and Melissa Breisacher and Cal State-Stanislaus’ Katie Eng and Kelsey Chrisco.
