John John Florence clinched his heat in the first round of the Oi Rio Pro on Tuesday in Rio de Janeiro. The North Shore native edged Brazil’s Yago Dora with a score of 14.67 to 14.64 in the sixth heat.
Nat Young clinched the first heat with a score of 13.84, followed by Gabriel Medina (13.10) and Honolulu’s Ezekiel Lau (10.60). Kauai’s Sebastian Zietz also struggled in Heat 11, finishing third to Kanoa Igarashi and Conner Coffin with a score of 11.26. Zietz will face Australia’s Ethan Ewing in Round 2, while Lau will take on Wiggolly Dantas.
On the women’s side, Coco Ho clinched Heat 4 with a score of 14.67, the second highest of the day. Carissa Moore and Tatiana Weston-Webb finished second in their respective heats. Moore will compete against Bianca Buitendag and Weston-Webb will face Laura Enever in Round 2.
BYUH women’s tennis receives awards
Nannan “Dallas” Zhang, Leah Heimuli and BYU-Hawaii women’s tennis coach Dave Porter received national recognition from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association on Monday.
Porter received his seventh ITA coach of the year award after guiding the Seasiders to another perfect season (27-0) and their 11th consecutive PacWest Championship. He is the winningest collegiate tennis coach, with a record of 1,409-187 and an .883 winning percentage.
Zhang was named ITA senior player of the year with a 50-match win streak on the singles court and a 47-match win streak in doubles. She is ranked No. 1 in both divisions. Heimuli received the ITA rookie of the year honor after finishing her first collegiate season with a 24-0 singles record. BYUH senior Xin “Summer” Wen also received recognition with the ITA/Arthur Ashe West Region Leadership and Sportsmanship Award.
The No. 1 Seasiders compete against Queens (N.Y.) today at the NCAA Division II Championships in Altamonte Springs, Fla.
HPU men’s tennis advances to elite 8
The No. 4 Hawaii Pacific men’s tennis team conquered the New York Institute of Technology with a 5-1 victory in the sweet 16 of the NCAA Division II Championships on Tuesday in Altamonte Springs, Fla.
HPU, the defending national champion (17-4), won two of three doubles matches and swept all three singles matches against the Bears (13-6).
The Sharks will face top-seeded West Florida (29-1) today at 10 a.m. in the quarterfinals. HPU dropped a 5-4 contest to the Argonauts earlier this season.
BYUH men’s golfers climb leaderboard
The BYU-Hawaii men’s golf team advanced 10 spots after a strong second round at the NCAA Division II Men’s West/South Central Regional in Stockton, Calif., on Tuesday. The Seasiders shot a 10-under 278 and remain tied for eighth place.
BYUH senior Nicolas Herrera remained steady with another 5-under 67 and is tied for third overall heading into the final round at Brookside Country Club. The PacWest champions trail by six strokes for the final qualifying berth into the NCAA championships. Cal Baptist leads the 20-team field by 29 strokes. The final round begins today at 9 a.m.
All-PacWest softball teams announced
Two Hawaii Hilo softball players were named to the 2017 All-PacWest Conference Softball First Team announced Tuesday. Senior catcher Danielle Pulido and junior shortstop Mari Kawano received first-team honors, along with HPU outfielder Sienna Santiago and BYU-Hawaii junior Lizabelle Talataina.
Bailey Gaspar represented the Vulcans on the second team, while HPU sophomore Dominique Walker received third-team recognition. Cal Baptist’s Caitlyn Lloyd was named player of the year.
Maui’s Baxter wins title at Japan Pro-Am
With a first-place finish in the distance race and second place in the sprint portion, Maui’s Connor Baxter took the overall title Sunday at the Trump Japan Pro-Am off Enoshima Beach, Japan.
It gave Baxter the victory on the third stop of the APP World Tour. Finishing second overall was Haleiwa’s Mo Freitas, who beat out Baxter for the title of the tour’s second stop, the Maui Pro-Am in March off Maliko Beach.
The two are tied atop of the 2017 APP World Tour rankings, creating a unique situation where both will wear the yellow leader jersey when the tour moves to Scharbeurtz, Germany, June 30-July 2.
