Brashears named pitcher of the week

Hawaii junior Tyler Brashears was named the Big West pitcher of the week on Monday.

Brashears shut down the top hitting team in the conference on Saturday, working 7 2/3 innings of three-hit ball in Hawaii’s 1-0 win over No. 9 UC Santa Barbara.

The right-hander walked one and struck out five to improve to 6-4 for the season.

He has allowed one earned run or none in seven of his last eight starts and has pitched into the seventh inning in four consecutive appearances.

Brashears’ 1.97 ERA ranks fourth among starters in the Big West behind Long Beach State’s Chris Mathewson and UC Santa Barbara’s Dillon Tate and Shane Bieber.

He is the first Rainbow Warrior to earn weekly conference honors this season.

Hawaii (15-26, 6-9) plays its next six games on the road, beginning Friday at Long Beach State.

Kahuku rugby team headed to nationals

After completing its second consecutive season as Hawaii’s undefeated state champion, the Kahuku Rugby Club will compete for the nation’s top spot at the Pacific Coast Cup Championship on May 7-9 in San Diego.

The Kahuku Rugby Club, which is not yet affiliated with the high school, includes 26 of the school’s student-athletes and has also received an invitation to compete in the prestigious Boys High School National Invitational Championship in North Carolina from May 14 to 16. This marks the first time that any team in Hawaii has qualified for either top tournament.

Under the direction of coach Seamus Fitzgerald, the Red Raiders’ season resulted in a 13-0 record. The mark includes a win at the Las Vegas Invitational over then-No. 6 Team United (Utah) and a 74-5 romp over the Napa (Calif.) Stormers.

At the Pacific tourney, the No. 9-ranked Red Raiders will take aim at the country’s top two teams: Danville Oaks and Fallbrook, both from California.

Kinesio taping seminars begin in May, July

A four-part Kinesio Taping seminar for medical professionals and hopefuls is being offered at the University of Hawaii athletics complex starting next month. The taping method is used to rehabilitate athletes while providing support and stability for muscles and joints.

The KT 1 and 2 seminars will be held May 23 and 24 and the KT 3 and 4 courses are on July 11 and 12, with instruction by David Garcia and Jayson Goo. All run from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The overall objective is to "provide every medical practitioner with premier intellectual support through expert instruction and state-of-the-art database tutorials."

The seminars are meant to be completed in succession. The four-session cost is $909 for regulars and $899 for students.

For complete details and registration, visit pacrimseminar.com or email jaygoohi@gmail.com.

BEST OF THE PAC-WEST

Golf trio headed to NCAA tournament

Three PacWest players earned individual bids into the NCAA Golf Championship tournament, which begins May 4 at the Hiddenbrooke Golf Club in Vallejo, Calif.

UH Hilo’s Dalen Yamauchi and Kyeton Littel, and BYU-Hawaii’s Nicolas Herrera will represent the conference in the national competition.

The men’s West and Southwest Regionals will run May 4-6. At a minimum, the top three teams and the top two student-athletes not with a team from each regional (regardless of region) will advance to the finals, which take place May 18-22 at Rock Barn Golf & Spa in Conover, N.C. The remaining eight team berths will be allocated based on the regions represented in the prior year’s medal-match portion of the championships, with the maximum number of teams from a given region capped at seven. No Hawaii-based teams advanced to the tourney in either the men’s or women’s field.

Salinas honored for softball exploits

Hawaii Hilo hurler Vanessa Salinas was named PacWest Pitcher of the Week on Monday, just days after turning in her longest outing of the season.

The senior from Madera, Calif., threw all 10 innings of Hilo’s win over Hawaii Pacific, allowing just six hits and two runs (one earned) while striking out eight. She surrendered three hits in the final four innings before her squad eventually completed the comeback win.

Salinas ranks fourth in the PacWest in ERA (1.98), second in innings pitched (183.2) and fifth in strikeouts (91).

Holt recognized for mound mastery

Hawaii Pacific pitcher Harley Holt was named PacWest Newcomer of the Week for the third time in 2015, the league announced on Monday.

The senior from Honolulu notched his second consecutive shutout start, striking out five and allowing just two hits in a seven-inning victory over visiting Academy of Art.

Holt, a Kamehameha Schools product, has not allowed an earned run in his last three starts — a span of 23 innings pitched.