Hawaii Beat

By Star-Bulletin Staff

Tuesday, March 9, 1999

Gymnasts big hits
on mainland

The Hawaii Island Twisters' Level 10's won the team title at an international level10/elite gymnastics meet at Verdugo, Calif., last weekend.

Tacia LaBatte, 16, of Kaneohe took first places in the all-around, bars and beam events. Nicole Vela-Bailey, 14, of Kailua was first in floor exercise and first in event finals on floor. Erin Geary, 14, of Honolulu (second on bars) and Ina Higashi-Izumi, 14, of Honolulu (third on vault) also were high scorers for HITS.

GOOD SKATES: The Hawaii Figure Skating Club's fourth Skate Aloha competition will be held Thursday-Saturday, at the Ice Palace.

Seventy-five skaters -- 23 of them from Montana, California and Canada -- ranging in age from 5 through 49 will take part.

The event will run from 2:30-8:30 p.m. Thursday, 2:45-6 p.m. Friday and 6:45-10 a.m. Saturday. Admission is free. For more information, call 422-2576.

BYUH WOMEN WIN BIG: The unbeaten BYU-Hawaii women's tennis team trimmed Illinois State, 9-0, yesterday at Laie for its third straight victory over an NCAA Division I opponent.

The Division II BYUH women raised their season record to 14-0. Illinois State is 5-7.

AHUNA ON WINNING TEAM: Tiffany Ahuna, a University of San Diego sophomore from Honolulu, helped her intramural team, "We Got Next," capture the women's title in the recent Schick Super Hoops Championships at Los Angeles.