PIERRE TOSTEE / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-BULLETIN
World champion Sunny Garcia of Hawaii, right, shook
hands with Mark Occhilupo after Garcia beat Occhilupo
to advance to the quarterfinals of the Rip Curl Pro at
Bells Beach, Australia, yesterday.

Garcia, Irons ousted

BELLS BEACH, Australia >> Australia's Danny Wills eliminated Hawaii's Andy Irons and Sunny Garcia at the Rip Curl Pro surf meet yesterday.

In the quarterfinals, Wills narrowly defeated Garcia, the defending world and event champion, ending Garcia's shot at a record-tying fourth Rip Curl title. Garcia was outscored, 20.9-20.7, earning $8,000.

In the semifinal against Irons, Wills pulled out another narrow win, 22.8-20.15, setting up an all-Australian final. Irons, who earned $10,000, had advanced with a quarterfinal win over American CJ Hobgood.

Fanning outpointed Wills in the final, 20.85-19.15.

UH-Hilo sweeps HPU

HILO >> Pitcher Taysha Anderson won her eighth consecutive game, tossing a five-hitter in the first game, and the University of Hawaii-Hilo went on to sweep a Pacific West softball doubleheader against Hawaii Pacific, 7-0 and 3-2.

In the second game, Nancy Vega's two-out single in the bottom of the ninth provided the game-winning run for the Vulcans (25-17, 12-8). HPU (31-13, 16-6) had taken a 2-1 lead in the eighth when Holly Garcia singled in Brandy Choy Foo; UHH came back with run in the bottom of the inning on Kayla Kahuli's homer.

The Vulcans scored all of their runs in the opener in the third inning, highlighted by Vega's three-run home run.

Ballard third in meet

BELLS BEACH, Australia >> Hawaii's Rochelle Ballard finished third in the Sun Smart Classic women's surf meet.

Ballard's highest score in the four-woman final was a 6.17 but it wasn't good enough to finish ahead of Australia's Neridah Falconer and Lynette MacKenzie.

Ballard earned $2,000, while Hawaii's Megan Abubo, who tied for fifth, earned $1,200.

Night tennis correction

The Kailua Women's Night Doubles professional tournament opens play April 25 with quarterfinal matches at the Kailua Racquet Club.

An item in Sunday's Star-Bulletin gave an incorrect date.

Quarterfinal matches are at 6 and 7:15 p.m. April 25 and 26. Semifinals are at 6 and 7:15 p.m. April 27.

On April 28, the third-place match is set for 6 p.m., followed by the championship match.

The tournament kicks off its week-long events with a sponsors/players dinner April 23. The Pro-Am tournament is scheduled for April 24.

For more information, contact tournament director Bruce Nagel at 262-2057.