Hawaii moves up in softball polls
A sweep last weekend gave the University of Hawaii softball team a bump in both national polls on Tuesday.
After winning three games against Western Athletic Conference rival Fresno State, the Rainbow Wahine (40-5, 14-3 WAC) moved up two places to No. 12 in the USA Today/NFCA coaches poll. UH rose three places to No. 14 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25.
UH remained 18th in the NCAA RPI released on Monday. California (45-3) remained No. 1 in all three rankings.
The Wahine depart today on their final road trip of the regular season and open a three-game series at Utah State on Saturday. They’ll remain on the mainland for the WAC tournament, May 9-12 in Las Cruces, N.M.
Wahine to meet Notre Dame at NCAAs
Hawaii will face five-time defending Big East champ Notre Dame in the first round of its first NCAA women’s tennis championship. They play next Friday (May 11) at Northwestern, in Evanston, Ill. The 64-team bracket was announced Monday.
The Rainbow Wahine won the Western Athletic Conference championship in their final appearance last week. They collected three 4-3 victories to capture the program’s first conference title. They also earned their first Intercollegiate Tennis Association ranking this year and are currently 61st.
UH (15-6) has won its past nine matches. The last loss came to the 18th-ranked Fighting Irish (20-7) in March. All six defeats have come against ranked teams. The Wahine avenged one Saturday when they upset 51st-ranked Fresno State in the WAC final.
Host Northwestern (16-7) is ranked 11th and earned the 13th seed after winning its 12th Big Ten championship. The Wildcats face two-time defending Mid-American champion Akron (24-3) in the site’s other first-round match.
UHH, Academy of Art split in baseball
Hawaii-Hilo pitcher Tyler Simao shut out Academy of Art 6-0 in the first game of a doubleheader at Wong Stadium yesterday, but the Urban Knights responded with a 6-2 win in the second game.
Simao struck out eight batters and only allowed six hits to earn his second win of the season against seven losses. Steven Riddle provided the offense, driving in two runs. Wade Broadstreet (0-11) took the loss for Academy of Art.
The Urban Knights broke open a tie game with four runs in the top of the seventh in the nightcap. Bryan Raines took the loss to fall to 1-8 for the season, as the Vulcans (15-33, 12-27 Pacific West Conference) were limited to two hits by three Academy of Art (6-40, 6-30) pitchers.
MPSF recognizes UH’s Genee, Scott
Hawaii water polo players Amarens Genee and Emily Scott were named to the All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation teams on Tuesday.
Genee, a junior, was named to the conference’s second team after scoring 57 goals in 25 matches, the second highest average in the league.
Scott made it on the MPSF newcomer team after scoring 23 goals. Hawaii finished its season with a 10-15 record.
Kua moves into top 10 at WAC tournament
Hawaii golfer TJ Kua shot a 4-under 68 to move up 20 spots into eighth place at the WAC men’s golf championship at Rio Secco Golf Club in Henderson, Nev.
Kua is four strokes behind leader Justin Shin of New Mexico State. San Jose State leads the team scoring by two strokes over the Aggies. Hawaii is in fifth, 21 shots behind.
