UH’s Iwata is Big West player of the week

Jessica Iwata’s contributions to the University of Hawaii softball team’s offensive explosion over the weekend earned the senior shortstop the Big West field player of the week award on Monday.

Iwata went 7-for-10 at the plate with two home runs in UH’s sweep of UC Riverside. She scored six runs and drove in five as the Rainbow Wahine outscored the Highlanders 36-3 over the three-game series.

Iwata raised her season batting average 41 points to .291 and doubled her home run total in the series. She posted a slugging percentage of 1.300 and an on-base percentage of .727 over the weekend.

Iwata went 2-for-3 and scored three runs in UH’s 16-0 win last Friday. She hit a three-run homer in UH’s 12-run first inning in the opening game of Saturday’s doubleheader. Iwata homered again in the first inning of the series finale and went 3-for-4.

UH has been represented in the Big West’s weekly awards in seven of nine weeks this season. Iwata is the fourth UH player honored by the conference, joining four-time pitcher of the week Kaia Parnaby, two-time field player of the week Leisha Li‘ili‘i and Kelly Majam.

Long Beach State’s Erin Jones-Wesley was named the Big West pitcher of the week.

UH (31-7, 9-0 BWC) opens a seven-game road trip on Saturday with a Big West doubleheader at Cal State Fullerton.

UH sails on to coed national semifinals

The University of Hawaii earned a spot in the national semifinals when its coed sailing team finished in third place at the Pacific Coast Collegiate Sailing Conference Coed Dinghy Championships held last Saturday and Sunday at the San Diego Yacht Club.

Stanford blew by the competition with 41 points to earn a spot in the national finals, which will be held in late May in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Second-place UC Santa Barbara (102 points) and UH (104 points) will fight for a spot in the finals after qualifying for the 2013 Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association coed semifinals in Hampton, Va., April 27-28.

For UH, Adam Pokras and Kellie Yamada placed fourth in the A division with 53 points, and Madeline Kennedy and Lindsay Stewart finished third in the B division with 51 points.

Earlier in the weekend, UH qualified for the team race nationals. UH will now look to qualify for the third and final division of the ICSA nationals when it competes in the PCCSC Women’s Championship, April 20-21, in Santa Barbara.

Wahine water polo team gets 2 more wins

The eighth-ranked University of Hawaii water polo team earned two more victories at the Bronco Tournament hosted by Santa Clara on Sunday.

UH defeated Cal State East Bay 16-5, taking a 10-1 halftime lead. Senior Paula Chillida Esforzado led the team with a hat trick.

In the second game, UH (17-9, 5-1 Big West Conference) defeated Colorado State 18-7. Senior Amarens Genee scored a season-high seven goals, while Monika Eggens followed with six.

UH returns home to host Cal State Northridge on Saturday at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex at 6 p.m.