Boyce leads UH into season-opening meet

Tim Boyce makes his Hawaii coaching debut on Saturday when the Rainbow Wahine cross country team hosts the Big Wave Invitational on Saturday at the Kaneohe Klipper Golf Course.

The 5K women’s race starts a 7:05 a.m., the first of UH’s seven events –•four on Oahu — leading up to the Big West Championship on Nov. 1 in Riverside, Calif.

While Carmyn James heads the UH track and field and cross country programs, Boyce will specialize with the distance runners. He was previously head coach at Pacific University in Oregon for seven years.

He’ll have a roster that includes sophomore Caitlyn Foss, UH’s leading returnee, who posted UH’s second-best times in both 5K (20:12) and 6K (22:52.4) races last year. Senior Louise Mulvey was UH’s second finisher in three meets last year and posted her season-best time of 20:27.45 in last year’s Big Wave Invitational.

UH athletes going global this summer

UH junior Isaac Fotu scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in New Zealand’s 73-61 win over Ukraine on Wednesday in the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain. He scored eight points in 17 minutes in a 98-71 loss to Team USA on Tuesday.

Fotu has company among UH athletes in competing in international events in the offseason.

» Golfer Izzy Leung shot a 3-over-par 75 for Hong Kong on Wednesday in the opening round of the World Amateur Team Championships in Japan. Leung, a sophomore, led the Rainbow Wahine with a 75.7 scoring average last season and is part of Hong Kong’s three-player roster in the tournament in Karuizawa, Nagano, Japan which runs through Saturday.

» Earlier this summer, Brittany Tiegs (sand volleyball, senior) won gold at the World University Beach Volleyball Championship in Portugal.

» Paula Chillida Esforzado (water polo, sophomore) scored six goals to help Spain win a bronze medal in the FINA Women’s World Cup in Russia.

» Rachel Lack (softball, freshman) hit .412 and drove in 10 runs as Australia claimed bronze in the ISF world championship in the Netherlands in August.

Six gymnasts named All-Americans

Six collegiate gymnasts from Hawaii were named to the Scholastic All-American Team by the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches/Women on Aug. 19.

Collegiate gymnasts who earned a grade-point average (GPA) of 3.5 or higher and who competed on a college gymnastics team in 2014 were eligible to earn the distinction.

The following gymnasts were honored: Cornell senior Mackenzie Sato (‘Iolani, 2010), 4.0 GPA; Stanford sophomore Jenna Frowein (Punahou, 2012), 3.94 GPA; Michigan State junior Carson Tabiolo (Moanalua, 2011), 3.9 GPA; Seattle Pacific freshman Tracie Villanueva (Moanalua, 2013), 3.72 GPA; Seattle Pacific freshman Kristi Hayashida (home school), 3.67 GPA; and Air Force sophomore Joey Ching (Punahou, 2012), 3.60 GPA.