The No. 5 Rainbow Wahine water polo team defeated No. 12 UC Davis 12-8 on Saturday, finishing its regular season with a victory on senior night at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatics Complex.
After the Aggies (15-13, 3-4 Big West) took a 3-2 lead after the first period, Hawaii (19-5, 6-1) scored the next three goals to take a lead it would not relinquish. Hawaii finished with five goals in the second quarter, then added two more goals in the third quarter, and three more in the fourth.
Alba Bonamusa Boix had four goals to lead Hawaii, the seventh game in which she’s scored three or more goals this season. Hawaii also got multiple goals from Emma van Rossum, Jordan Wedderburn and Bia Mantallato Dias.
The game was the final home match for three Wahine seniors: Libby Gault, Olivia Kistler and van Rossum. Hawaii will next play in the Big West Tournament, which begins Thursday in Santa Barbara, Calif. Hawaii will open play against No. 7 CS Northridge on Friday at 10 a.m.
Sharks win PacWest tennis title
The Hawaii Pacific women’s tennis team defeated Azusa Pacific 4-2 on Saturday, winning the PacWest Conference Championship in Surprise, Ariz.
The Sharks avenged their loss to the Cougars in last year’s championship game. This is HPU’s third PacWest title, the most among active schools.
In the doubles competition, HPU dropped the first match on Court 2, where Elodie Busson and Abigail Wild lost 6-2 against Vini Bautista and Miruna Tudor. But the Sharks came back to take the matches on the No. 1 and No. 3 courts, claiming the doubles point.
In singles, Marleen Tilgner and Busson won on Courts 3 and 2, putting the Sharks within one win of clinching the title. But after Tudor lost on Court 5, and Shaline Pipa on Court 1, all eyes turned to the No. 6 court, where Mihoki Mitahara defeated Katherine Nguyen 6-1, 6-3 to win it for the Sharks.
Tilgner, who did not lose a set in singles, was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. The Sharks will await their seeding in the NCAA Regionals, which will be announced Monday.
Hawaii splits softball doubleheader
The Rainbow Wahine softball team split its doubleheader with CSU Bakersfield, losing the first game 8-5 before bouncing back for a 3-2 win in Bakersfield, Calif.
In the first game, the Rainbow Wahine (28-16, 11-7 Big West) took an early 4-1 lead entering the bottom of the third, highlighted by a solo home run by Maya Nakamura and a two-run double by Haley Johnson. But in the bottom of the inning, the Roadrunners (7-34, 2-16 Big West) loaded the bases with no outs. Karissa Munsey then got CSU Bakersfield on the board with a two-run single. After another walk, Key-annah Campbell-Pua was pulled for McKenna Kostyszyn, who got Hawaii out of the inning, but not before allowing back-to-back RBI singles that put the Roadrunners in front.
The Roadrunners added a run in the fourth, and two more in the sixth as insurance. Hawaii got a run in the seventh, but were unable to string together any more consistent pressure against CSU Bakersfield.
Hawaii bounced back in the second game, getting out of the gates quickly with two runs in the first inning. After allowing a run in the bottom of the fourth, Hawaii added an insurance run in the fifth. That was more than enough support for starter Brianna Lopez, who tossed a complete game, allowing five hits and two runs while striking out eight.
