Corpuz finishes second in qualifying
Punahou sophomore Allisen Corpuz finished second after Tuesday’s final round of U.S. Women’s Amateur qualifying in Charleston, S.C. The medalist was Japan’s Yumi Matsubara, who shot a tournament-record 7-under-par 64 for a total of 135.
Corpuz shot 71 to finish in a three-way tie at 140. Pearl City’s Brittany Fan had a 69 and was another shot back. Mariel Galdiano, Corpuz’s Punahou teammate, also advanced with rounds of 72-73.
Recent Punahou graduate Kacie Komoto, who won the State Women’s Match Play title last month, rallied to reach match play. She shot 72 to finish at 149 and tie for 54th. The top 64 — at 150 — moved on.
Team USA starts Grand Prix with 2-1 mark
Team USA goes into the second week of the FIVB World Grand Prix women’s volleyball preliminary round with a 2-1 record. It defeated sixth-ranked Russia and swept 15th-ranked Poland in Campinas, Brazil, last weekend before falling to second-ranked Brazil, 17-25, 25-23, 25-18, 25-20.
The loss ended the top-ranked Americans’ record 18-match World Grand Prix streak. It was also their first loss of the year after 10 wins with new coach Karch Kiraly. Hilo’s Reed Sunahara is an assistant.
Kalani alum Tama Miyashiro, the U.S. libero last week and this week, ranks ninth in the 20-team tournament, averaging 3.18 digs a set.
The U.S. plays Algeria on Friday in Belgrade, Serbia.
Polynesian football hall of fame coming
The newly created Polynesian Football Hall of Fame will be headquartered in Honolulu, organizers were expected to announce today.
What’s more, the first class of inductees will be announced this month. The inaugural enshrinement ceremony is scheduled for Jan. 23, prior to the NFL’s Pro Bowl at Aloha Stadium.
All-Pro safety Troy Polamalu and former NFL players Jesse Sapolu and Vai Sikahema are among the board members.
Former head coaches Dick Tomey, LaVell Edwards and Ron McBride, and former NFL executive Gil Brandt are among the members of the selection committee.
The first class will have seven inductees — six players and a "contributor." The players must be born in the 800,000-square-mile region known as Polynesia or have Polynesian ancestry. The "contributor" candidate can be anyone who has been affiliated with Polynesia, such as coaches who recruited heavily in that area.
There are 58 players of Polynesian ancestry on NFL training-camp rosters.
"When I played, you looked at the (NFL) rosters, and every three or four weeks, you’d look forward to playing a team with a Polynesian on it," Sapolu said. "Now some teams have three or four guys."
Organizers said they hope to establish scholarships for Polynesian student-athletes at schools across the country. One of the goals is to endow a scholarship in the name of Junior Seau, a Pro Bowl linebacker from USC who died last year.
"The one thing we’ve always had in the Polynesian community is the respect for your family and how you can carry the family name," Sapolu said. "This will be a platform to remind a new generation."
8 UH water polo players at worlds
Eight athletes from the University of Hawaii competed in the 15th FINA Women’s Water Polo World Championships, which ended Friday in Barcelona. Spain won the gold medal, beating Australia 8-6 in the final to become the first host team to capture the title. The U.S. took fifth in the 16-team tournament with a 15-12 win over Greece.
Five former Wahine played in the match for seventh, which the Netherlands won 12-9 over Canada.
The Netherlands featured three-time UH All-American Iefke van Belkum, who had 10 goals and 11 assists in the tournament. Dagmar Genee added five goals, two assists and two steals and Leonie Van Der Molenwent for five goals and three steals.
Monika Eggens, the 2013 Big West Player of the Year and an All-American her senior season, was the second-leading scorer for Canada with 11 goals. Eggens set the UH career scoring record this year. Sister Carmen, also a former Wahine, also played for Canada.
Danielle Lewis, now a senior at UH, was one of three Wahine on New Zealand’s team. The Kiwis went 1-2 in pool play before falling to Spain in the Round of 16. Lewis had a goal, three assists and a steal in four matches. Kelly Mason, UH’s only four-time All-American, contributed three goals, one assist and five steals, and Emily Cox scored one goal.
San Francisco State hires Nepfel
Former Rainbow Wahine basketball coach Bill Nepfel was named interim director of athletics at San Francisco State last month.
Nepfel coached Hawaii four seasons in the mid-1980s, guiding it to two 20-win seasons. His assistant was Vince Goo, who would go on to become the school’s winningest basketball coach and lead the team to five NCAA tournaments and the 1998 WAC title.
Nepfel left in 1987 to become co-head coach at San Francisco with his wife, former USF All-American Mary Hile-Nepfel. He became USF’s associate AD in charge of compliance and academic services in 2000, after helping the Dons to three NCAA tournaments, including a Sweet 16 appearance in 1996.
He took over as SFSU’s associate AD for compliance in 2008. Nepfel is replacing Michael J. Simpson, who retired last month.
California team leads Billfish tourney
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii » Veteran anglers from Laguna Niguel Billfish Club No. 2 California knew they needed to post valuable points Tuesday, and that’s what they did to climb the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament leaderboard and break away from a crowded four-way tie for second place and capture the lead.
Fishing aboard Strong Persuader, angler Chuck Salinger seized his opportunity on Day 2 of the tournament.
"As soon as the marlin hit, I knew this tag and release would be an important one for our team," he said.
It took Salinger just three minutes to tag and release the estimated 150-pound Pacific blue marlin. But it was enough to propel his team into the lead.
Game Fishing Club of South Australia held a slim 15-point lead going into Tuesday. The team managed to tag a short nose spearfish in the final hour to hoist its two-day total to 715 points, dropping it to second place.
