Hours after being honored at the Honolulu City Council, the Brigham Young-Hawaii women's tennis team defeated Chaminade, 8-1, yesterday in its first match since winning the 1997 NAIA national championship. Big day for BYUH
tennis championsDefending NAIA champ Karin Ptaszek, national runner-up Teresa Stromberg and national semifinalist Paiao Short won their singles matches to pace the Seasiders.
The Chaminade women fell to 0-3.
The BYUH men also beat the Silverswords, 9-0, evening their record at 1-1.
Chaminade dropped to 0-2.
Recognized along with the BYUH women's tennis team, 27-0 last season, at the City Council session were the Seasiders' 1997 women's volleyball team, which also captured the NAIA national title, its fourth in a row, with a 32-0 finish.
Kitakachidoki, Terao named Akebono attendants
TOKYO, Jan. 29 (Kyodo) - The Japan Sumo Association on Thursday named veteran wrestlers Kitakachidoki and Terao as attendants to yokozuna Akebono during the ring purification ritual for the opening ceremony next week of the Nagano Olympic Winter Games.The JSA decided Wednesday to have Akebono perform the ''dohyo-iri'' ring-entering ritual for the Olympic opening ceremony in Nagano in place of fellow grand champion Takanohana, currently laid up in hospital with acute bronchitis and a liver ailment.
The association added that the attendants for the ritual would remain Takatoriki and Akinoshima, wrestlers from Takanohana's Futagoyama stable. The decision, however, was later reversed.
Kitakachidoki, a 32-year-old maegashira wrestler from the Isenoumi stable, will serve as the sword-bearer for the ritual, while Terao, 34, an ironman from the Izutsu stable will be the dew-sweeper.
The dohyo-iri, performed by the yokozuna prior to each day's bouts during a Grand Sumo tournament, symbolically calls for the attention of the gods and drives the evil spirits from the ring.
UH TENNIS TEAMS WIN: The University of Hawaii men's and women's tennis teams recorded a double-shutout yesterday at San Francisco's Olympic Club, sweeping the University of San Francisco men and women by scores of 7-0 and 5-0, respectively.
Jakob Nilsson and Eric Stone won their singles matches for the Rainbows (3-8), then teamed up for a doubles victory.
Petra Holma, Michelle Rodman, Lynn Novack, Susie Saunders, Natalie Lum and Georgina Sesto were singles winners for the UH Wahine (5-4). Rain washed out the doubles matches.
STEVE YOUNG TO SPEAK AT LAIE: San Francisco 49ers quarterback Steve Young will appear at the Polynesian Cultural Center's Aloha Theater at 5 p.m., Saturday to speak and take questions from youngsters in the audience.
Admission to the theater will be included as part of the regular admission to the center.
Young also will visit at the center with three Hawaii families, randomly chosen from all those that redeem the free and discounted PCC annual family passes being distributed as prizes in the McDonald's McExtra Program during the month of January.
WOMEN'S GOLF HONORS: Norma Baxter, Barbara Dowd, Betty Roth and Hope Yee received the first annual honor roll awards presented by the Hawaii State Women's Golf Association yesterday.
UH SOFTBALL PLAYER SIDELINED: Starting second baseman Regina Ka'aihili of the University of Hawaii women's softball team fractured the index finger on her right hand in practice Tuesday and will be out of action for at least two weeks.
The Wahine open their season Saturday at 5 p.m. against an Alumnae team.
WAHINE TO SPEAK: Kelli Cordray, Tehani Miyashiro and Heidi Illustre of the University of Hawaii Wahine volleyball team will speak to students at Sacred Hearts Academy about women in sports at 12:30 p.m. Monday in the school gym.
The panel presentation, moderated by noted motivational speaker Peter Burwash, is part of the celebration of National Girls and Women's Sports Day.
The UH players will talk about how they started in volleyball, how they balance academics with sports and how sports has been a positive influence in their lives.
There will be a question-and-answer session afterward.