Angelica Ljungquist and Therese Crawford will be back at the
Special Events Arena for the Wahine starting tomorrow night.
Associated Press

UCLA's Andy Banachowski starts his 30th year with the Bruins, ranked as the winningest coach in the nation (795-161, .832). He will become the first coach in the sport's history to win 800 matches, probably sometime in the middle of next month.

Hawaii's Dave Shoji, in his 22nd season with the Wahine, will become only the 10th coach to hit 600 wins, possibly in early October. He is currently 587-121 with a winning percentage of .829, second among active coaches.

Michigan's Greg Giovanazzi has coached with - and against - both Banachowski and Shoji. Giovanazzi, a former Bruin men's player, was a long-time UCLA assistant and was an assistant to Shoji for the 1980 Rainbow men's team.

The three will be reunited this week at the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Classic that begins tomorrow. No. 6 UCLA faces No. 25 Louisville in tomorrow's 5:30 p.m. opener at the Special Events Arena while top-ranked Hawaii takes on unranked Michigan in the second match.

"I enjoy bringing in teams with coaches I have known for a while and that I enjoy being around," said Shoji, whose team seeks its fourth Classic title. "I certainly don't want to bring in someone I don't get along with don't respect.

"It's fun because we know each other and it's always a battle of strategies and game plans. It's always fun to see how they're attacking us and how we're going to counter what they do."

The Wahine (2-0) have had little time to practice on countering anything since returning from their winning effort at last week's State Farm NACWAA Tournament in Normal, Ill. Even though Hawaii picked up two solid wins against No. 11 Florida and fifth-ranked Nebraska, the defending national champion, the Wahine have had just two days to prepare for this week's opponents.

"We're a little behind where we want to be, skill-wise," said Shoji. "That's where we've been concentrating our efforts this week."

One skill Hawaii will not have this tournament is the defensive abilities of senior Nalani Yamashita. The back-row specialist is out with a sore right ankle.

"We hope that doesn't hurt us too much," Shoji said of Yamashita's loss. "We're not as good a team with her not in the game."

Shoji expects to rely on sophomore Kelly Cordray and Heidi Ilustre in the back-row rotation. Freshman Aven Lee, a left-side hitter, is expected to make her playing debut.

A number of Bruins will also make their debut this week, surrounding senior setter Kelly Flanigan. UCLA had the top recruiting class in the country and a number of freshmen - including 6-2 hitters Melissa Wendt and Jennifer Wittenburg - should get substantial playing time.

"I'm pretty happy with what we've got," said Banachowski, whose team has competed in the Classic every year since its inception in 1988. "We've got a bunch of young colts out there and we think we'll be able to develop into a pretty good team.

"I think we'll have some rough times at the beginning. I don't think we're a great ball-handling team yet by any means. We've been working real hard in practice on defense and I think we'll be a pretty good scrambling team."

UCLA has won the Classic title four times, including three in a row from 1992-94. The Bruins are also looking to tie the series with the Wahine; it's 26-25 in Hawaii's favor in one of the most intense rivalries in the country.

Michigan has never met Hawaii while Louisville lost to the Wahine, 3-0, last December in the second round of the NCAA tournament. The Cardinals have a new coach - former Soviet Union national women's coach Leonid Yelin, named the AVCA Coach of the Year while leading Barry University to the NCAA Division II title last season.

Louisville returns four starters from last year's Conference USA championship team that went 29-6. The Cardinals are tall, averaging 6-feet, and will start three senior preseason all-conference picks: Jackie Byrne (6-1) in the middle, 6-1 hitter Beth Kuhnell and 5-9 setter Stephanie Storen.

Coming home to play is Michigan's Jane Stevens, a Punahou School product. The sophomore hitter has been looking forward to this trip ever since she was recruited to be a Wolverine.

"Greg had told me we'd come out sometime in my five years," said Stevens, who redshirted her first year. "I'm excited to have my teammates come out and see where I come from, understand how I grew up.

"I saw the (Hawaii) men play when I was home during spring break. I went back and told me teammates they can't imagine what it's like to play in front of 10,000. All I said was 'Be ready.'"

As of yesterday afternoon, some 2,000 tickets remained for each of the three nights of the tournament. Thanks to over 5,000 season tickets being sold, the Wahine have covered this year's budget without even playing a match.

Tomorrow: UCLA vs. Louisville, 5:30 p.m.; Hawaii vs. Michigan, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday: UCLA vs. Michigan, 5:30 p.m.; Hawaii vs. Louisville, 7:30 p.m.
Monday: Michigan vs. Louisville, 3 p.m.; Hawaii vs. UCLA, 5 p.m.
Where: Special Events Arena.
Broadcasts: All matches live on KFVE-TV (Channel 5). All Hawaii matches live on KCCN (1420-AM).