Kailua to host final leg of triple crown
The final leg of the triple crown of tennis in Hawaii begins on Sunday at the Kailua Racquet Club.
For the first time, the Kailua Men’s Night Doubles tournament is part of a triple crown of tennis created by Henry Sommerville, Ron Romano and Bruce Nagel.
Mikael Maatta and Jan Tribler took home the second portion of the series, winning the Oahu Club Men’s Night Doubles on Saturday.
They defeated Chas Okimoto and Paul Okuda 5-7, 6-3, 7-5.
Rainbow Wahine to play on ESPNU
Two Western Athletic Conference volleyball matches will be shown live on ESPNU this season, and the University of Hawaii could be in both.
The Rainbow Wahine’s regular-season match at New Mexico State, Oct. 12, will be aired as part of the network’s Wednesday Night Women’s Volleyball package, the conference office announced Monday. The starting time has been moved back an hour, to 4 p.m. Hawaii time.
ESPNU will also televise the WAC Tournament championship, Nov. 23 from Las Vegas. That match starts at 3 p.m. Hawaii time. Hawaii has been in every WAC Tournament final since joining the conference in 1996.
The Wahine open practice Aug. 9 with a roster of 20, including All-Americans Kanani Danielson and Brittany Hewitt. There are seven freshmen — Jane Croson and Monica Stauber from California, Jade Vorster from Florida, and Hawaii’s Kayla Kawamura (Hawaii Baptist Academy), Kalei Adolpho (Molokai), Ginger Long (Kamehameha-Maui) and Lizzie Blake (Kahuku).
Hawaii starts the season Aug. 26 against San Francisco in the Chevron Rainbow Wahine Invitational.
Rapoza named outstanding wrestler
Bree Rapoza, an incoming junior at Kamehameha, was named the outstanding wrestler and Team Hawaii won the the women’s cadet freestyle title at the USA Wrestling Cadet & Junior National Tournament in Fargo, N.D.
Rapoza pinned Michelle Lomas of Texas 22 seconds into their 115-pound title match. Rapoza won all four matches with early pins, spending a combined 2 minutes and 43 seconds on the mat
Kaelynn Canyete and Kelly Rivera finished second in their respective weight classes, Canyete losing at 88 pounds to Marina Doi of California, and Rivera to Kayla Miracle of Indiana at 108.
Also scoring points for Team Hawaii were Thai Ha Slona, fourth at 95; Precious Jaramillo, fourth at 124; and Mikaela Sakamoto-Matsumoto seventh at 101. At 132, Phairin Hicks placed sixth and Kristine Haga seventh; and Kuuleilani Lankford was seventh at 143.
Team Hawaii finished with 41 points — with 12 total pins — in the 24-team competition. California was second at 36 and Texas third with 33.
In the men’s Cadet Greco-Roman division, no Hawaii wrestler advanced to the top eight.
Waipio advances in Junior League tourney
Ezra Heleski tossed a two-hit shutout to lead Waipio to a 10-0 victory over Central East Maui in the championship game of the junior division Little League state tournament Monday at Kailua High School.
Matt Canois and Kahoea Akau each had two hits and Shiloh Baniaga doubled to lead Waipio, which will play in the Western Regional on Aug. 2-9 in Laguna Niguel, Calif.
