Ten members of the University of Hawaii women's volleyball team took a little trip during spring break. [ UH VOLLEYBALL ]
Wahine have fun in Japan
Prep Notebook By Grace Wen
Star-BulletinBut before you envision sun and the beach, think "gyms.'' In a foreign country.
Jennifer Carey, Margaret Vakasausau, Lily Kahumoku, Kim Willoughby, Tanja Nikolic, Lauren Duggins, Maja Gustin, Melody Eckmier, Rebekah Cravens and Melissa Villaroman didn't have a typical spring break experience but it was a trip they will not soon forget.
Along with head coach Dave Shoji and a translator, the Wahine visited four cities -- Kyoto, Nagoya, Yokohama, and Tokyo --practiced with six teams, played two exhibition matches and took a ride on the bullet train during a 10-day cultural and volleyball exchange to Japan.
"We go mostly to train and practice," Shoji said. "They had a tremendous time. Between the volleyball and the cultural exchange with other teams and just seeing how some of the other players live their lives and then seeing some of the sights and experiencing Japanese life, they really had a good time."
Shoji tries to take his squad to Japan once every four years. This was the sixth trip since 1979 for the team.
Though Carey did not play or practice (she is recovering from foot surgery in January), she still found the trip rewarding. Carey noted differences such as the small physical stature of the people and the remoteness of certain cities.
She also added that despite language barriers, certain words needed no translation.
"They seemed to know more English than we did Japanese," Carey said. "The main things we were always able to get were their names, their birthdays and if they had a boyfriend or not. They all knew the word 'boyfriend' so that was a common word.
"Other than that, it was just a lot of gestures and a lot of laughing and pointing."
Fopma will sit out a year
Jennifer Fopma, a 6-foot-3 junior middle blocker from Bellflower, Calif., will be forced to sit out a year after transferring from Pepperdine.Pepperdine coach Nina Matthies refused to discuss the matter.
"I can't talk about that," Matthies said in a phone call yesterday to the Malibu campus. "We've made a decision and the university felt it was a fair decision. That's our policy."
The NCAA mandates that for sports like football and basketball, players must sit out a year before they are eligible to play. In other sports, however, if the school releases a player who wants to transfer, that athlete can participate right away.
Fopma will have two years of eligibility beginning with the 2002 season.
Kahumoku, Ilustre asked
Outside hitter Lily Kahumoku and Cal State Northridge transfer Hedder Ilustre, who will both be juniors this fall, were among 14 players invited to train with the U.S. A-2 National team this summer.The A-2 program was developed three years ago to act as a pipeline for developing potential national team members.
Warrior notes
Costas Theocharidis became the 10th player in UH men's volleyball history to notch 1,000 kills during Hawaii's loss to Brigham Young on Saturday. He is the second UH player to eclipse the mark in his sophomore season. NCAA Player of the Year Yuval Katz got 1,444 career kills in his two seasons at Hawaii. Senior Torry Tukuafu and junior Dejan Miladinovic are also nearing 1,000. Tukuafu needs 43 kills and Miladinovic 49. ...For the seventh consecutive year, Hawaii has led the nation in attendance. Through 15 home matches this season, UH is averaging 5,093. Its total attendance figure of 76,389 marks the first time since 1995 that Hawaii has not drawn more than 100,000 in a season. BYU is second in the nation.
Roosevelt guard Jodi Nakashima will take her jump shot to Idaho next fall, as she has committed to attend Boise State and play for the Broncos' women's basketball team. Versatile Rough Rider
By Jason Kaneshiro
star guard will attend
Boise State this fall
Star-BulletinNakashima, a starter with the Rough Riders since her freshman year, signed her letter of intent to join the BSU program Saturday.
According to Roosevelt coach Bobby Keanini, the Broncos will get a complete student-athlete. Nakashima was named to the Oahu Interscholastic Association Eastern Division first-team last year and was an All-State honorable mention pick.
She also carries a 3.5 grade point average and scored 1,080 on the Standard Achievement Test.
"It's great when the best player on your team is also the hardest worker," Keanini said.
"We don't have big people, so she had to be a better dribbler and better passer, and I think she's the best shooter in the state. (BSU) will get a player that has no downside, there's only a plus side to her."
Dias to lead Menehune
Dana Dias' team is expanding at home and at work.The former girls' basketball coach at Moanalua gave birth to her first child recently, and is also adjusting to working with 600 student-athletes instead of 15 as the school's new athletic director.
"There's no way I could do this without the support of my family and my husband," Dias said. "The staff at Moanalua has been great and the support that I receive at home allows me to do two things that I enjoy tremendously."
Dias takes over for George Goto, who retired last year.
Her husband, Roy Dias, now coaches the Menehune girls' basketball team.
The purple pipeline
Purple will remain a dominant hue in Randy and Bobby Shinn's wardrobe as the brothers from Pearl City High will attend Missouri Valley College next year on soccer scholarships.The Shinns, who will play for the purple-clad Vikings, earned OIA West Division first-team all-star honors this season, and Bobby was named the division's player of the year.
The Shinns were also Star-Bulletin All-State first team selections.
Joining the Shinns in Marshall, Mo., in the fall will be Mililani football and track star Kali French.
French was an OIA Red Conference honorable mention pick as the starting quarterback for the Trojan football team last fall.