Local surfers make up three of four semifinal spots at the Hurley Pro Sunset Beach, with Malia Manuel, Gabriela Bryan and Bettylou Sakura Johnson all advancing on Thursday.
Manuel and Johnson each won their opening round heats, while fellow local surfer Carissa Moore also advanced off points. Bryan and Luana Silva advanced through the elimination round.
The Round of 16 saw several upsets, as Silva upset Brazil’s Tatiana Weston-Webb and Johnson defeated American Lakey Peterson. But Moore was also upset, losing to Australia’s Molly Picklum 13.03-11.20. Manuel also advanced, defeating Australia’s Tyler Wright, while Bryan beat Australia’s Stephanie Gilmore.
In the quarterfinals, Bryan eliminated Silva in the highest scoring matchup of the round 15.27-14.33. Manuel advanced by beating France’s Johanne Defay 11.67-10.06, and Johnson defeated Australian India Robinson 9.16-5.40.
Manuel will face Bryan in today’s semifinal, with Johnson taking on Costa Rica’s Brisa Hennessy in the other semifinal. Next call is set for 7:50 a.m.
HPU men up to fourth nationally in tennis
The Hawaii Pacific men’s tennis team rose to fourth in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division II Men’s Tennis Coaches Poll released Thursday.
The Sharks (4-0) defeated three ranked teams in last week’s Hawaii Invitational, where they defeated then-No. 4 Hawaii Hilo 6-1, then-No. 12 Azusa Pacific 6-1, and then-No. 17 Concordia Irvine 7-0. They also defeated Biola, who rose to 19th in this week’s poll. Hawaii Hilo fell to 15th in the latest poll.
Academy of Art sweeps HPU in hoops
The Academy of Art defeated both the Hawaii Pacific men’s and women’s basketball teams on Thursday, with the HPU women losing 66-59, and the men lost 73-54 in Belmont, Calif.
The women took the court first, but despite leading by 13 at the half were unable to hold on for the win. The Sharks (6-17, 3-13 PacWest) dropped their third straight, led by Tavia Rowell’s 18 points, eight rebounds and five assists. The Urban Knights (13-9, 10-5) were led by Alisha Wilson with 22 points and 11 rebounds.
In the men’s game, the Sharks (5-19, 2-15) trailed throughout, as the Urban Knights (15-10, 11-6) led wire-to-wire. No Shark scored in double figures, as Tucker Pellicci led HPU with nine points. Latrell Williams led the Urban Knights with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
