Hawaii Grown: College Athletics
Al Chase
|
Titans' Bukoski leaves a lasting impression
Deven Bukoski (Kamehameha '06) made quite an impression during her first season of NCAA Division I women's volleyball with the Cal State Fullerton Titans. The 5-foot-11 freshman outside hitter was named to the Big West Conference All-Freshman team. The Kula resident played in 102 games and led the team with 11 double-doubles. Bukoski was second in digs (260) and third in kills (282).
» Mounia Nihipali (Kamehameha '04), a junior outside hitter for the Titans, played in 67 matches and had 20 kills and 15 aces.
» Kevin Aoki, an Iolani grad and head coach of the Pacific Lutheran women's volleyball team, was named the Northwest Conference Coach of the Year.
» Brian Zodrow (Saint Louis '01), who played for Pacific, is training with the United States team that will play in the World University Games in Bangkok, Thailand, Aug. 8-18, 2007.
Zodrow's college career ended in 2005, when he led the Tigers with 452 kills and had 21 aces and 119 digs.
» Shannon Kim (University) and Kristin Tanabe (Roosevelt) played their defensive specialist positions well for the 19-15 Graceland Yellowjackets in the NAIA Heart of America Athletic Conference.
Kim, a junior, played in 98 games, was second on the team with 318 digs and fourth with 32 aces.
Tanabe, sophomore, was in 108 games. She was third in digs (252) and aces (50).
» Kamehameha graduate Pi'i Aiu just completed his 10th season as head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes women's volleyball team. The Buffaloes had a 17-12 record and were eliminated in the second round of the NCAA tournament by Washington. His career record is 180-116 (.608). Originally from Kapaa, Kauai, Aiu chairs the AVCA Division I All-America Committee.
Ayers leading scorer at St. Francis University
Christie Ayers, a senior guard from Pearl City, is the leading scorer for the St. Francis (Loretto, Pa.) Red Flash.
She has connected on 33 of 68 field-goal attempts, four of 10 3-pointers and 34 of 38 free throws for 91 points, a 9.5 average per game.
» Shanna-Lei Dacanay (Punahou '05), the second leading scorer for Washington University in St. Louis with a 10.7 average, will miss the remainder of the season.
The sophomore guard suffered a torn ACL in her left knee in a game against Maryville on Dec. 13.
» Tatriana Lorenzo (Kamehameha '06), a freshman guard for Gonzaga, will miss the rest of the season after suffering an injury to her left knee in the Bulldogs' upset win over UCLA on Nov. 24 in the Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic.
Lorenzo played in six games, including starts in the last three, and was averaging 3.5 points per game.
» Ginger Gravelle (Iolani '04) will redshirt this basketball season at Concordia (Irvine, Calif.) after having shoulder surgery. She'll return as a junior forward for the Eagles.
Loo a big splash for Redlands swim team
Melanie Loo (Iolani '06) has enjoyed good early results with the Redlands women's swimming team.
The freshman won the 100-yard butterfly race with a time of 1 minute, 3.07 seconds in the first meet of the season on Dec. 2 as the Bulldogs beat Cal Tech 191-39. The next day, Loo was timed in 5:35.98 to finish second in the 500-yard freestyle when Redlands beat Pomona-Pitzer 170-67.
The Waipahu resident was second in the 200 fly in 2:20.04 on Dec. 9 in a 190-31 win over Whittier.