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SMALL COLLEGE NOTEBOOK

BYUH hosts
tennis regionals

Brigham Young-Hawaii will host the NCAA Division II West Regional for men's and women's tennis next week at Laie.

The top-ranked Seasider women (25-0), the defending national champions, are seeded first in the regional that runs May 5-6.

BYUH has a first-round bye and will play the winner of the May 5 match between Grand Canyon (15-6) and Hawaii-Hilo (10-8) on May 6.

Also, Hawaii Pacific (10-7) and Sonoma State (15-6) will play on May 6 at BYUH.

In the other half of the split regional, Cal State Bakersfield is at UC Davis.

In the men's competition, Hawaii Pacific (21-3) is the top seed and has a first-round bye on May 5.

The Sea Warriors will take on the winner of the May 5 match between BYU-Hawaii (25-4) and Hawaii-Hilo (10-13) on May 6.

The 16 regional winners in both men's and women's play will advance to the NCAA Division II national championship tournament at West Florida, May 11-14.

HPU's Woodard a perfectionist

Usually when a pitcher has just finished tossing a one-hit shutout for a complete-game victory, she slaps "five" with her teammates and willingly accepts the compliments of her coaching staff.

Not so in the case of Jennifer Woodard, sophomore sensation for the Hawaii Pacific softball team.

After accomplishing the feat earlier this month at the Mountain Dew Classic in Bakersfield, Calif., Woodard walked off the mound and headed directly for Sea Warriors assistant coach Bryan Nakasone. She was not in the mood for celebration, despite securing one of the four Sea Warriors victories at the tournament.

"Tell me I could have done better," Woodard said to Nakasone.

Despite hurling what most would consider a gem, Woodard always sees room for improvement. By her own admission, this view is greatly facilitated by the fact that Woodard is her own harshest critic.

"Even with the one-hitter, I felt I could have done better," Woodard said. "My speed was not up to par."

Despite what may be characterized by others as overly critical self-assessment, Woodard's "never-satisfied" attitude has led to record-breaking statistics over the past two seasons.

Last year during her freshman season, Woodard set a new school mark for wins (23-2).

Her 0.54 ERA,15 shutouts, and 131 strikeouts in 156-1/3 innings illustrated the absolute dominance she enjoyed over the competition.

These mind-boggling statistics would appear to contribute to at least some sort of letdown this season, some level of "sophomore slump.''

Around the midway point of this season, Woodard had already surpassed her loss total from all of last year, with her record at 8-3 and a 1.10 ERA

Excellent statistics for most, cause for concern to Woodard.

She complained about the loss of velocity on her pitches and their lack of movement, seeming distracted at times, despite her role as one of the new leaders on a very young team.

This is when Woodard received a much-needed call from her father.

Woodard married this past summer and her father did not approve. The two had not really spoken since the wedding, and Woodard was struggling with this, as well as the pressures of a new marriage.

"Out of the blue, he called me," Woodard said. "He told me, 'Hey, you can turn this thing around and be just as good as you were last year.'

"That was exactly what I needed to hear from the person I needed to hear it from most because my dad is my inspiration."

With her father in her corner again, though he probably never really left, and the constant support of her new husband, Woodard went on a tear. She reeled off eight straight wins, including six consecutive shutouts. During this tear, Woodard enjoyed a streak of 48 consecutive scoreless innings, sixth-best in NCAA Division II softball history. So much for the slump.

Despite three recent losses during which she said she did not pitch poorly, but was outpitched and outplayed, Woodard's record currently stands at 18-6 with a 0.77 ERA.

She has pitched 21 complete games with nine shutouts, struck out 137 in 172° innings, and opponents are batting a measly .193 against her.

With four games remaining against Chaminade, as well as a chance at postseason play, 20 wins is again well within her reach.

"Mentally, I had to be tougher this year because I have so much going on with school, my new marriage, and what was going on in my relationship with my dad," Woodard said. "Add all this to the fact that we have such a young team with eight freshmen; I had to get stronger mentally."

Despite the departure of key seniors from last year's West Regional runner-up team, Woodard feels this year's Sea Warriors have the chance for postseason glory as well.

"This year's team has got a good foundation and everyone does their part," Woodard said. "If we remained focus, we have a chance to make the Regionals again."

HPU concludes the regular season with noon doubleheaders against Chaminade Saturday and Sunday at the HPU Windward Campus field.

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By Brandon Lee, Special to the Star-Bulletin