Hawaii senior center fielder Brittnee Rossi and freshman pitcher Brianna Lopez received Big West honors on Monday following the Rainbow Wahine softball team’s sweep of league leader Cal State Fullerton last weekend.
Rossi was named the Big West Field Player of the Week after going 4-for-8 with a home run and four runs scored in her final series at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium. She posted an .875 slugging percentage and .636 on-base percentage in the leadoff spot. She highlighted her week with a 3-for-4 performance and hitting her 16th career home run in a 13-11 win in the middle game of the series.
Lopez earned the Big West Freshman of the Week honor for the second time this season. She posted two wins and a save while throwing 12 1/3 shutout innings against Cal State Fullerton, the highest scoring team in the conference. She went the distance in a 1-0 win in the opener last Friday and threw the final 2 1/3 innings of the eight-inning shootout in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader. She then picked up a save with three shutout innings in relief of Chloe Borges in UH’s 2-0 win in the finale.
The Rainbow Wahine (22-17, 16-8 BWC) enter the final week of the season two games behind co-leaders Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State. They close the regular season with a three-game series at UC Davis (21-28, 6-18) starting Friday in Davis, Calif.
Cal State Fullerton plays host to Long Beach State, with the series winner clinching the Big West championship.
Sharks headed to NCAA D-II Championships
The No. 4 Hawaii Pacific men’s tennis team secured its spot in the NCAA Division II National Championships after an all-Hawaii bout in Monday’s NCAA II West Regional. The Sharks defeated Hawaii Hilo 4-1.
HPU (17-2) took the doubles point from the Vulcans (9-10), then won at the third, fourth and fifth singles positions to secure the win. The winning margin came at the fourth court, when Jakub Beran beat UH Hilo’s Luca Matheiowetz in straight sets 6-3, 6-1.
The Sharks move on to the NCAA Division II National Championships on May 18-22 at Altamonte Springs, Fla.
HBA’s Hayashida leads boys state golf
Hawaii Baptist’s Joshua Hayashida shot 2-under 69 — the only golfer to shoot under par — and is in first place after the opening round of the boys David S. Ishii Foundation/HHSAA Golf Championship at Ka’anapali Resort.
Maui Prep (292) is running away in the team competition, 30 strokes ahead of second-place HBA (322).
Na Pueo grabbed five spots in the top 10. Christopher Salem secured a second-place tie with a score of 72, and Dillon Jonke shot 1-over 72 for a fourth-place tie. Landon Long shot 3-over 74 for an eighth-place tie, while Renner and Caleb Chumley each shot 75s to grab spots in a six-way tie for 10th place.
Four of the next five positions in the team rankings were occupied by Oahu schools. Punahou stands in third with a score of 323, Moanalua is in fourth with a score of 324, Kamehameha tied with Hilo’s Waiakea for fifth with a score of 337, and Mililani is in seventh with a score of 358.
Island School (361), Campbell (363), Hilo (379), and Kalani (384) rounded out the team rankings.
The final round is set to begin at 7 a.m. today at Ka’anapali Resort.
