Yada, Kono advance in LPGA qualifying

Waiakea graduate Britney Yada and Punahou alumna Stephanie Kono advanced out of the Stage II LPGA Qualifying Tournament in Venice, Fla., on Friday.

Yada shot a 2-over 74 for a 219 total and tied for 51st, and Kono shot 75–294 to tie for 72nd.

The cut was made at 7-over 295, and 85 will advance to the final stage, Dec. 3-7 in Florida. Golfers who finish in the top 20 there earn priority status on the 2015 LPGA Tour.

Moanalua alumna Kristina Merkle shot 82 for a 316 total and finished tied for 187th.

Ginger Howard of Bradenton, Fla., shot a 1-under 71 to earn medalist honors at Plantation Golf and Country Club. Howard finished with a four-day total of 9-under 289, one stroke clear of Alison Lee (Valencia, Calif.).

Okamura earns Sony Open berth

Garrett Okamura of Kahului shot a 6-under 66 for a 135 total to win by six strokes in the Aloha Section Stroke Play Championship at Poipu Bay on Friday.

The victory earned Okamura a berth in the 2015 Sony Open in Hawaii.

Okamura will leada group of three who qualified for the PGA Professional National Championship, June 21-24 at Philadelphia.

David Havens of Kaanapali, Maui, shot 1-over 73 (141) to finish second and earn a berth in the PNC qualifying. Honolulu’s Kevin Shimomura (69–143) won the final qualifier spot in a playoff against Andrew Feldmann.

Chen leads BYUH sweep of Dominican

Shih Ting Chen got her fourth consecutive double-double (16 kills and 12 digs) and her seventh this season as the Brigham Young-Hawaii women’s volleyball team swept Dominican 25-20, 25-15, 25-18, in a PacWest Conference match at San Rafael, Calif., on Friday.

Elizabeth Blake Solaita also recorded a double-double with 33 assists and 13 digs for BYUH (8-3, 5-0). The Penguins are 2-12, 0-6.

7 Wahine softball players honored

Seven University of Hawaii softball players have been named 2014 National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division I All-America Scholar-Athletes on Thursday.

Keiki Carlos, Brittany Hitchcock, Jori Jasper, Krysta Kali, Loie Kesterson, Sharla Kliebenstein and Ula Reis-Moniz all earned honors that are given to players who achieved a 3.50 grade-point average or higher during the 2013-14 academic year.

Ha gains spot in National PAL boxing finals

Lisa Ha from Kawano B.C. defeated Marina Ramirez in a 106-pound semifinal match at the National PAL Championships in Oxnard, Calif., on Thursday.

She will fight Gionvanna Camacho on Saturday in the final of the 19- to 40-year-old Open division.

Jordan Panthen of Boxfit808 lost to Lawrence King of Adelanto, Calif., in his semifinal bout.