Hawaii Beat
Star-Bulletin staff
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Kuehne, Burks qualify for LPGA's SBS Open
Kelli Kuehne and Audra Burks finished 1-2 in a qualifying round yesterday at the Turtle Bay Resort's Palmer Course to make it into this week's SBS Open.
Kuehne shot a 3-under 69 and Burks fired a 2-under 70 to beat out Teresa Lu and Amy Read, who shot 72s, and the rest of the hopefuls.
The SBS Open is an LPGA Tour stop that starts Thursday and runs through Saturday.
Warriors stay at No. 6 in 2 volleyball polls
Hawaii's win over Pepperdine last Friday did nothing to help the Warriors in yesterday's CSTV/AVCA Division I-II men's volleyball Top 15.
However, No. 6 Hawaii did knock the Waves out of the top spot. Pepperdine and Brigham Young swapped spots in this week's rankings, with the Cougars (10-2) moving to No. 1 with 233 points and the Waves (7-2) to No. 2 with 226 points.
Nos. 3-6 also remained the same, with UC Irvine (10-3) third, Long Beach State (11-2) fourth and Cal State Northridge (7-4) fifth.
Hawaii also stayed at No. 6 in the Volleyball magazine poll released yesterday.
The Warriors host the fourth-ranked 49ers in matches Thursday and Friday at the Stan Sheriff Center. Hawaii may have senior opposite Matt Bender available for the first time this season after being sidelined the past six weeks with an ankle sprain.
"Overall I was happy with today," Bender said after yesterday's practice, his first full workout in more than a month. "It felt awesome to be playing with the team again, but I honestly don't know if I'll be playing this week (against Long Beach State)."
UH's Toyama named WAC's golfer of the week
Hawaii's Travis Toyama was named the Western Athletic Conference Golfer of the Week following a second-place finish at the Hawaii-Hilo Invitational.
The sophomore from Kaneohe posted scores of 69-69-65 --203 and finished one stroke out of the lead in helping the Warriors to a fourth-place showing.
Vulcans sweeps softball doubleheader
Hawaii-Hilo beat Montana State-Billings in both ends of a softball doubleheader, 13-2 and 7-3, yesterday in Phoenix, Ariz.
Natalie Fujimoto's grand slam paced the Vulcans' offense in the opener, behind the pitching of Britni Rodriguez, who finished with a complete-game (five innings) four-hitter.
Hawaii-Hilo's Sarah Steele pitched a complete-game three-hitter in the second game, and she got plenty of offensive support from Vanessa Badosa, Leo Sing Chow, Miki Asamura and Brittany Dock, all with two hits.
The Vulcans improved to 3-3. The Yellowjackets are 1-5.
Sculpture to honor Donnis Thompson
Dr. Donnis H. Thompson, the first women's athletic director at the University of Hawaii and a pioneer in gender equity, will be honored with a bronze sculpture tentatively scheduled for completion in May.
The school commissioned former UH professor Jan-Michelle Sawyer to do the work. Thompson, also a former Hawaii superintendent of education, has been a state and national leader in promoting girls and women's participation in sports .
Tax-deductible donations are being accepted by Kaho'omiki, Hawaii's Council on Physical Activity. Send checks to The Donnis Thompson Sculpture Project, 1493 Halekoa Drive, Honolulu, 96821.
For information, call Alicia Maluafiti at 224-3648 or send an e-mail to alicia@loihicommunications.com.
Hawaii sailors take fifth in Charleston event
The fourth-ranked Hawaii women's sailing team placed fifth at the Charleston Women's Spring Invitational at Patriots Point in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., on Sunday.
The Rainbow Wahine finished with 141 points in the 15-team field. Yale won the event with 64 points.
Hawaii's Tinja Anderson-Mitterling and Cassie Harris finished fourth in the A division. The Rainbow Wahine's Shandy Buckley and Crystal Bronte placed sixth in the B Division.