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SMALL COLLEGE NOTEBOOK

BYUH women
piling up wins

The Brigham Young University-Hawaii women's tennis team continues to roll along this season. The Seasiders are a perfect 14-0 and seemingly have barely broken a sweat in dual-match competition this year.

The No.1-ranked team in NCAA Division II, No.17 nationally overall, the Seasiders have doled out severe beatings to all levels of competition. The Seasiders have faced five Division I opponents so far this year, and treated them just as rudely as the rest of their competition from Division II and the NAIA, beating all five, 9-0, in dual-match play.

Though the Seasiders play in virtual anonymity at their Laie campus, these results should come as no surprise to those in the know. The Seasiders are seeking their fourth consecutive national championship.

BYUH is led by sophomore Petra Gaspar, the team's No.1 singles and doubles player, as well as the No.1 ranked player nationally for Division II. Gaspar has spent time on the WTA professional tour, yet her teammates are by no means slouches in comparison.

Rounding out the top four singles positions for the Seasiders are seniors Helena Nordwall, Karin Ptaszek, and Tagifano So'onalole, respectively. Nordwall has never lost a dual-match in her Seasider career, Ptaszek was the NAIA national singles champion as a freshman, and So'onalole was the No.1 junior college player two years ago.

So'onalole is Gaspar's doubles partner, and Nordwall and Ptaszek play together at the No.2 doubles position.

While Gaspar is currently nursing a bruised heel classified as day-to-day, the Seasiders have not missed a beat. Coach Dave Porter rested Gaspar during their last two matches earlier this week against Cal Lutheran and Pacific, yet the Seasiders defeated both easily 9-0 with their top players making the smooth transition up one position in Gaspar's absence.

"Really Gaspar can play if we need her, but we want to give her some rest now when we have the chance," said Porter.

The schedule becomes much tougher for the Seasiders when they hit the road at the end of this month and the beginning of next. During this stretch, the Seasiders will face several highly ranked teams in preparation for the NCAA Division II Nationals in early May.

The highlight of this road trip will be the Blue-Gray Small College Tournament in Montgomery, Ala., April 6-8. Aside from the No.1 ranked Seasiders, the Nos. 2-6 teams in Division II and the Nos. 2-3 teams in the NAIA will be playing.

The Seasiders lose four players to graduation this year but they'll have Gaspar for two more years.

"We really want to get the word out that we have a quality program at our small campus," said Porter. "Though it's a bit of a drive from town, people should know that high-quality tennis is being played here in the islands."

Chaminade Improved:

In other tennis news, Chaminade coach Brent Skillicorn is thrilled at his team's performance this year. Though the Silverswords have completed only half of their season so far, the men's team (3-9) has already equaled its win total from all of last year, while the women's team (2-5) has already surpassed its win total from its previous campaign. A year ago, the men were 3-20 and the women were 0-18.

"We face some tough local competition here with BYUH and HPU," said Skillicorn.''UH-Hilo is also pretty good this year, so I'm pleased with our development and the steps we've taken."

HPU baseball to play LCS:

The HPU baseball team (12-10) has two home games coming up against defending NAIA national champion Lewis-Clark State College, with a game against Division I San Jose State sandwiched in between. The Sea Warriors play LCS Sunday night, then face the Spartans Tuesday. HPU's final home date of the season is Wednesday, again against LCS. All three games begin at 7 p.m. at Hans L'Orange Field.

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By Brandon Lee, Special to the Star-Bulletin

BYU-Hawaii