Punahou, Kailua top soccer seeds

Defending champion Punahou was awarded the top seed in the JN Automotive Group/HHSAA Division I Girls Soccer Championships and Kailua is the top seed in Division II.

Both tournaments run from Wednesday to Saturday at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Park.

Punahou opens play Thursday against the winner of the first-round match between King Kekaulike and Moanalua. League champions Mililani, Baldwin and Hilo also have first-round byes.

Kailua, which won its second straight OIA White title last Friday, leads the Division II field, with Kapaa seeded second, followed by defending champion Pac-Five and Hawaii Prep.

All first-round matches start at 3 p.m. on Wednesday. The Division II final is set for 5 p.m. Saturday, followed by the Division I championship at 7.

Russell wins Challenger title

Michael Russell defeated Grega Zemlja of Slovenia 6-0, 6-3 to capture the singles title of the inaugural Honolulu Challenger yesterday at Central Oahu Regional Park.

Russell, the world's 90th ranked player and the tournament's top seed, claimed his 22nd USTA Pro Circuit title by beating Zemlja, ranked 169th, in the final.

Kevin Anderson and Ryler Deheart defeated Kyu Tae Im and Martin Slanar 3-6, 7-6 (2), 15-13 in the doubles final.

UH tennis upsets South Florida

The 42nd-ranked Hawaii men's tennis team defeated No. 37 South Florida 4-0 yesterday in the ITA Kickoff Weekend at the Los Angeles Tennis Center.

UH (4-1) won the doubles point then got singles victories from Andreas Weber and Jeremy Tweedt. Leo Rosenberg clinched Hawaii's first win over a ranked opponent this season with a 7-6, 6-3 decision over Yannick Yoshizawa.

UH water polo wins twice

The Hawaii water polo team improved to 4-0 with wins over No. 14 UC Davis and Cal State East Bay yesterday in the Northern California Invitational.

Ryan Hanson-Swaner scored four goals in UH's 17-4 win over UC Davis.

Jana Liessman also had four goals as the Rainbow Wahine scored a 14-6 win over Cal State East Bay.

UH's Serena Bredin had 12 saves in the doubleheader.

HPU's Lewis earns award

Hawaii Pacific senior forward Genesis Lewis was named the Pacific West Conference women's basketball player of the week after leading the Sea Warriors (12-4, 8-0 PWC) to two wins last week.

Lewis averaged 12.5 points and 11 rebounds in the Sea Warriors' wins over Hawaii-Hilo and Academy of Art.