HPU women advance to NCAA tennis semis
The fourth-ranked Hawaii Pacific women’s tennis team advanced to the semifinals with a 5-1 victory over Southwest Baptist at the NCAA Division II Tennis Championships in Surprise, Ariz., on Thursday.
HPU will play No. 2 Armstrong Atlantic State (28-1) today. It is the second time in school history HPU has reached the national semifinals.
The Sea Warriors grabbed a 2-1 lead after doubles play by winning at second and third doubles. Lea Kruse-Utermann and Karen Ramirez finished first with a decisive 8-1 victory. Celina Goetti and Ielyzaveta Rybakova followed with an 8-2 win.
Ramirez gave HPU its third point with a 6-2, 6-3 win at third singles. Magdalena Smejova won 6-2, 6-2 in fifth singles. Kruse-Utermann sealed it with a 6-4, 6-1 win at sixth singles.
Barry ousts HPU men in NCAA tennis
Top-ranked Barry defeated fifth-ranked Hawaii Pacific 5-1 in the NCAA Division II men’s tennis championships in Surprise, Ariz., on Thursday.
The Sea Warriors (19-4) lost two close doubles matches. HPU’s seventh-ranked team of Petr Michnev and Gerald Moretti pushed the nation’s second-ranked pair of Fabian Groetsch and Marco Mokrzycki before falling 8-6. Max Hertl and Jaume Martinez-Vich also lost 8-6. Martinez-Vich got HPU’s lone point with a singles victory.
UHH’s Lee named PacWest player of year
Hawaii Hilo’s Rebecca Lee was named Player of the Year, and teammate Kristina Victa the Newcomer of the Year on the all-Pacific West Conference softball team.
UHH’s Emily Green and Hawaii Pacific’s Chante Tesoro and Alysia Maddison also were named to the first team.
Lee, a junior from Mililani High, batted .429 with 21 doubles, five homers, 41 runs batted in, a team-high 76 hits and 23 stolen bases. Victa, an outfielder from Laguna Hills, Calif., batted .395 with 75 hits and 26 steals.
Grand Canyon’s Stephanie Pesqueira was Pitcher of the Year, Cal Baptist’s Jessica Avila was Freshman of the Year and Notre Dame de Namur’s Steve Rianda was Coach of the Year.
Named to the second team were Chaminade’s Rayna Strom-Okimoto and Tumamaopavaiai Enos, Hawaii Pacific’s Dorian Acierto and Kelia Elderts and Hawaii Hilo’s Victa.
Third-team honorees were Chaminade’s Kori Berinobis and Kaitlyn Watanabe, HPU’s Nicole Morrow and Kristen Caskey and UHH’s Lee, who was selected for shortstop.
HPU’s Sumner earns baseball honor
Hawaii Pacific’s Kale Sumner earned the Hawaii Tourism Authority Pacific West Conference Baseball Player of the Week award for April 22-28.
Sumner finished the week 11-for-30 at the plate, including four doubles and two home runs. He also walked four times, scored eight runs and finished the week with a .417 on-base percentage.
