Hawaii’s John John Florence defeated Australia’s Jack Freestone in the final of the Oi Rio Pro on Thursday in Rio de Janeiro.
Florence beat Freestone 18.97 to 16.13 in the fourth stop on the World Surf League Championship Tour.
Florence is now No. 3 in the world rankings.
In the semifinals, Florence defeated Brazil’s Adriano de Souza 18.73 to 12.66, while Freestone ousted Brazil’s Gabriel Medina 16.50 to 14.67.
In the quarterfinals, Florence beat fellow Hawaii surfer Dusty Payne 15.17 to 8.50.
BYUH women, men advance in tennis
The top-ranked Brigham Young-Hawaii and No. 7 Hawaii Pacific women’s tennis teams and the No. 3 Hawaii Pacific men’s squad won their NCAA Division II Elite 8 matches Thursday in Denver.
The Seasiders women defeated No. 12 St. Mary’s (Texas) 5-2, while the Sharks women topped No. 15 Cameron (Okla.) 5-1.
BYU-Hawaii will face No. 2 St. Leo (Fla.) and HPU will meet No. 3 Armstrong State (Ga.) in today’s semifinals.
The Sharks men beat No. 8 Valdosta State 5-4. They will play Ferris State in today’s semifinals.
Averill, Taylor named to Pan Am Cup roster
Former Hawaii All-America middle blocker Taylor Averill and Punahou graduate Josh Taylor were named Thursday to the U.S. national team that will compete in the upcoming NORCECA Pan American Cup in Mexico City.
Averill is one of three middles selected for the 12-team roster; Taylor, an All-American at Pepperdine, is one of five outside hitters picked for the competition that runs Saturday through next Thursday.
The U.S. opens Saturday with Chile. Also competing are Argentina, Canada, Cuba, Colombia, Costa Rica, Honduras and host Mexico.
BYUH men’s golf team finishes 12th
The Brigham Young-Hawaii men’s golf team finished tied for 12th at the NCAA Division II Championship on Thursday in Denver.
The Seasiders shot even-par 288 on Thursday and finished at 10-over 874 at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club.
Saint Leo won the team title with an 838.
BYU-Hawaii’s Nicolas Herrera shot a final-round 1-under 71 to finish tied for 27th at 216.
St. Leo’s Hugo Bernard took medalist honors with a 203.
Dummar to coach Seasiders soccer teams
Brigham Young-Hawaii announced on Thursday the hiring of Dan Dummar as coach of its men’s and women’s soccer programs.
Dummar, who will start June 1, previously served as an assistant coach on the men’s and women’s teams under Mark Davis.
5 UH track athletes going to preliminaries
The University of Hawaii will send five track and field athletes to next week’s NCAA Preliminary Round (Regional) in Lawrence, Kan.
The athletes are Alex Porlier Langlois (shot put, discus), Charlinda Ioane (shot put, discus), Felicianna Vazquez (javelin), Karen Bulger (javelin) and Tiziana Ruiz-Dominguez (pole vault).
