[ HIGH SCHOOL ]
Punahou standouts
commit to collegesTennis star Robbie Lim and
all-state soccer player Allison Lipsher
announce their choices
Two state high school champions from Punahou have announced their college choices:
Two-time HHSAA boys tennis champion Robbie Lim has accepted early admission to Dartmouth and Allison Lipsher, Star-Bulletin all-state goalkeeper on Punahou's HHSAA champion girls soccer team, has committed to Duke.
Lipsher (Punahou '04, of Hawaii Kai) was chosen last month for the National Soccer Coaches Association/Adidas' 20-girl, 14- to 18-year-old West regional team, which is part of its 80-member Youth All-America team.
She was selected by a committee of coaches, including U.S. Soccer national and regional staff and top college coaches, after she attended an invitation-only Olympic Development Program camp at Boca Raton, Fla., on Thanksgiving weekend. It was her fourth national camp.
"(Duke coach) Robbie Church was there," Lipsher said. "I was glad that he had a chance to see me play and verify that he made a good investment."
Lipsher was modest about her performance at the national camp. "I played decently; I wasn't disappointed in my play," she said.
Lipsher said she had been interested in Duke since the recruiting process started in July. "It took a little longer to decide," she said.
She made an official visit in October. "I really got along with everyone," she said. "Everyone was really sincere. The academics are great and the campus is gorgeous."
"There are very few, if any, Hawaii kids there," Lipsher said. "That is almost its appeal, starting something completely new."
She can sign a National Letter of Intent scholarship agreement on Feb. 4.
Lipsher said she has been playing goalkeeper since she was 5 years old. Her club team is the Honolulu Bulls.
"I've had so much experience and I've always wanted to make it to some of the higher levels," she said.
"I'm looking forward to playing in a really good conference" (the Atlantic Coast Conference, home to 16-time national champion North Carolina).
Lipsher said she also visited Stanford and Santa Clara. "I was also interested in Virginia, but they signed a really good goalkeeper," she said.
Lipsher said she has a 3.4 (B-plus) grade-point average at Punahou.
IN ADDITION TO winning the last two state high school singles championships, Lim (Punahou '04, of Waialae Iki) won the National Kapalua Junior Open (16s) last year.
He has been ranked No. 1 in his age group in the Hawaii Pacific section of the U.S. Tennis Association for the past three years and was ranked 60th nationally in the 16-year-old age group in 2002.
He has helped Punahou win the last three HHSAA state championships and made the all-tournament team at the 2003 National High School (team) Championships in California, helping Punahou take third place.
Lim said he has played the game for 13 years and trains year-round, six days a week.
Last May, he collapsed from cramps and heat exhaustion during the first day of the HHSAA state tournament.
After he came back to lead Punahou to a national record 35th state team championship, Lim's teammates selected him as their Most Inspirational Player.
He also won the 2003 Jane Forrester-Leong Hawaii-Pacific Tennis Association Academic/Athletic Award, named for one of the great contributors to Hawaii youth tennis.
"My college search was extremely tough," Lim said. "Before October, I had never visited a single college campus.
"However, from a young age I wished to attend an Ivy League school like Dartmouth. When I visited on my recruiting trip, -- I visited both Dartmouth and Columbia on the same trip -- I really liked the atmosphere.
"It was laid back. The tennis team was a fun bunch, and their new tennis facility was unrivaled in the Ivys."
Lim says he has a 3.9 grade-point average at Punahou.
He is taking advanced-placement courses this year in calculus and physics and has taken advanced-placement courses in the past in chemistry and biology, getting the top score on the AP tests. His total SAT score was 1,430.
Lim said he "was also recruited by Columbia, Macalester, Purdue, Claremont-McKenna, Pomona, Brown, Occidental, Redlands, Santa Clara, Washington University in St. Louis, Carleton, UC-San Diego, and a few other schools.
"Given this, you can see why it was so hard to choose. ...
"After a long trip and a tiresome recruiting process, I am relieved that my college search is finally done."
"I look forward to my last state championships here."
Lim will not need to sign a National Letter of Intent since Ivy League colleges do not give athletic scholarships.