University of Hawaii senior Mikayla Tucker and freshman Morgan Martin were named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association Beach Volleyball All-America team on Thursday.
Tucker and Martin are the program’s seventh and eighth All-Americans. They went 20-15 overall playing in the No. 1 flight in all 36 matches this season and were named Big West Pairs Team of the Year.
They helped UH win a school-record 29 matches and reach the semifinals of the NCAA tournament. The SandBows placed third in the tournament and in the final AVCA poll.
Tucker closed her UH career tied for second in program all-time dual match wins with 60 and third in overall wins with 80.
All-Region honors for Hitchcock, Dung
University of Hawaii pitcher Brittany Hitchcock and Fresno State’s Kamalani Dung, a Kamehameha graduate, were named third-team All-Region selections by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association on Thursday.
Hitchcock made the West Region third team a day after being named to the All-Big West first team. Hitchcock went 19-12 with a 1.85 earned-run average in her junior year. The right-hander threw eight shutouts and finished second in the Big West with 169 strikeouts against 28 walks in 204 2⁄3 innings while holding opponents to a .219 batting average. She made the West Region third team as a freshman in 2015.
Dung, the Mountain West Conference pitcher of the year, was named to the Pacific Region third team. She enters the NCAA tournament at 25-13 with a 2.17 ERA. She matched Hitchcock with eight shutouts and recorded 202 strikeouts in 238 1/3 innings. The Bulldogs (34-21) face Michigan today in the first round of the Seattle, Wash., regional.
HPU’s Gunter Best D-II Hurler in West
Hawaii Pacific University pitcher Matthew Gunter was named by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association as the 2017 Division II West Region pitcher of the year on Thursday.
The senior left-hander out of Orangevale, Calif., was selected to the first team as a starting pitcher on the All-West Region squad in addition to having won the PacWest pitcher of the year award earlier in the month. Gunter finished the season with a 6-4 record and a 2.09 ERA. His 102 strikeouts are an HPU record, while his ERA ranks second among PacWest and West Region starting pitchers.
Herrera a finalist for Nicklaus award
BYU-Hawaii’s Nicolas Herrera was named a finalist for the 2017 Division II Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year Award presented by Barbasol on Thursday.
Herrera advanced to the NCAA championships after taking second place with a 12-under par at the 2017 NCAA Division II Men’s Golf West/South Central regional. This was after he helped the Seasiders to their first ever PacWest men’s golf championship, posting a 14-under par for the 54-hole tournament. BYU-Hawaii enters regional play as the top-ranked team in the West region.
Sharks lacrosse make it three straight
The Honolulu Club Sharks took home the Aloha Youth Lacrosse Association’s Founder’s Cup for the third straight year this past weekend at Konawaena High School.
Comprised of students from ‘Iolani, Saint Louis and others, the Sharks went 1-0-1 in round-robin play before beating Punahou 9-7 in the championship match. It’s the third year of AYLA, a youth club league and player development program for students in grades 2-12.
Hawaii gymnasts compete at nationals
Jayden Paulino, Emanuele Muehlhauser and Jesse-Lee Pakele of Hawaiian Island Twisters Gymnastics competed at the 2017 Men’s Junior Olympic National Championship last week in Kissimmee, Fla. Pakele, competing in the Level 9 Age 13 Division, won third place in the all-around; he placed first in floor and pommel. Paulino (Level 10 Age 16) saw his best score on floor (12.65) and Muehlhauser (level 10 age 17) scored an 11.60 on the pommel.
>>Ui Soma took part in the 2017 USA Gymnastics Level 9 Western National Championships in Boise, Idaho, and won first place in the All-Around of the Junior 2 Division. She earned a 38.250 total score and placed first on vault (9.550), first on bars (9.70) and second on floor (9.550). Soma recently has been training with a team from San Mateo, Calif. Scarlette Arakawa (Hawaiian Island Twisters) medaled on bars with a 9.450 score and Taylor Camello (Rainbow Gymnastics) took a medal on floor with a 9.450 score.
