Sean Scott of Kailua opened the new Association of Volleyball Professionals tour with an undefeated day in the Hermosa Beach Open at Hermosa Beach Pier in California. Kailua's Scott stellar in
first day of tourneyStar-Bulletin staff
Scott teamed up with Albert Hanneman of Torrance, Calif. to win his first round match in three sets, then followed it up with a 21-17, 21-14 sweep of the fifth-seeded duo of Carl Henkel and Sinjin Smith. Scott and Hanneman came into the tournament seeded 12th.
The pair earned a date with the top-seeded team of Dax Holdren and Todd Rogers in today's quarterfinals at 8 a.m.
Holdren and Rogers survived a bumpy road to the elite eight, barely getting by the eighth seed after easily dispatching the team of Jake Elliott and Honolulu's Mark Paaluhi 21-14, 21-9. Elliott and Paaluhi earned the right to play the top seed with a 21-0, 21-0 skunking of their first round opponent.
Paaluhi and Elliott bounced back from the loss to win a match in the loser's bracket, but saw their tournament end in the next round with a sweep at the hands of Scott Lane and Chad Mowry.
Lee Lagrande was Honolulu's other representative in the draw, joining Scott Akayatubby to rebound from an opening-round loss with four straight wins.
The team's comeback guaranteed it a spot in the next round and at least a split of the $3,200 purse for seventh place.
Lagrande and Akayatubby, the ninth seed, face eighth-seeded Brent Doble and Matt Lyles at 8 a.m. and would play again at 9:30 if they advance.
Hawaii had a pair of women representing it on the other side of the draw, but neither of them finished in the money.
Danalee Bragado of Honolulu teamed up with Ali Wood to make up the sixth-seeded entrant, but was upset by 11th seeded Diane DeNocochea and Wendy Stammer 21-13, 21-19 in the first round.
Bragado and Wood recovered to win their next match, but fell to eighth-seeded Linda Handley and Sarah Stratton in the second round of consolations.
Lia Young of Honolulu and her teammate Marsha Miller came in as the 10th seed but lost in their first match, a 43-minute sweep at the hands of Cary Wendell and legend Liz Masakayan.
Miller and Young won their next match but suffered the same fate as Bragado and Wood in the third, dropping a 59-minute battle to eighth-seeded Linda Handley and Sarah Stratton.
UH sailing in seventh, O'Bryan honored
The University of Hawaii coed sailing team finished the last day of competition in seventh at the Intercollegiate Sailing Association/Ronstan North American Dinghy Championship in Massachusetts Friday.Skippers Molly O'Bryan and Josh Henrich with crew members Sarah Hitchcock and Ann Feeley-Summerl helped Hawaii earn 148 points, a ninth place finish in the A-division.
Skipper Brent Harrill and crew member Jennifer Warnock finished third in the B-division with 110 points.
Tufts University won the three-day, 18-race regatta. Harvard, Dartmouth and Boston College rounded out the top four.
O'Bryan, who helped the Wahine sailing team win its first national title for the UH sailing program, was named to the 2001 ICSA/Ronstan Women's All-America Sailing Team.
Timeout
Paul Ortino: "I stand behind the idea of winning not being everything."Name: Paul Ortino
Age: 46
Position: Hawaii's chief instructor of Okinawa Kenpo Karate; Hawaii Karate Congress president; Aloha State Games karate commissioner
Why?: To make the students a higher priority than club politics.
People would be surprised to know: "I came here in 1980 to help my father with his beauty supply business. There are actually quite a few hairdressers who are very good (martial artists)."
In all martial arts, humility is the overriding principle. But you don't have to watch "The Karate Kid" to realize not every practitioner buys into the ideal.
"In karate, students are taught to have good ethics and morals, to be like Boy Scouts. But to be honest, it doesn't always work that way," Ortino said. "When people from different clubs get out on the mats, sometimes ego takes over instead of respect."
Karate is a family affair for Ortino. His wife Daisy and daughters Cheryl, 15, Sherry Anne, 9, and Shanelle, 6, are all in training.
Ortino tries to facilitate an ohana atmosphere among local clubs that have different ideas of how to do things. He tries to help rival clubs bury ill feelings from the past, setting up tournaments open to all schools. He said Honolulu Police Chief Lee Donahue's participation on the board of the Hawaii Karate Kodanshakai has helped.
"Some clubs don't want to get involved, and that's up to them," said Ortino, who has been the karate commissioner for the Aloha State Games since its 1990 inception. "But with the state games we have a lot of volunteers from all over the place, and everyone loves what they do, building camaraderie.
"I get along with most everyone," the seventh-degree black belt said. "Just like everyone else, I've got an ego. But I stand behind the idea of winning not being everything. I tell my students that I take great pride in them when they win, but greater pride when they have the respect of their fellow martial artists. Whoever won will be forgotten, but whoever handled themselves graciously won't be forgotten."
Dave Reardon, Star-Bulletin
To nominate a sports volunteer, call 529-4782
HCC announces 3 membership drives
The Honolulu Country Club has announced three new membership programs.A 2001 golf membership drive is available now through July 31. The non-refundable initiation fee is $10,000; monthly dues are $290, and there is a quarterly minimum charge of $300 for food and beverage.
A Junior Heritage Program is now available to youngsters ages 12 to 23. It's limited to 50 members and the initiation fee is $200. Monthly dues are $10 for ages 12-17 and $20 for ages 18-23. Green fees are $2 for 18 holes, $1 for 9.
The drive is also on for an Intermediate Program for young adults, ages 24-30. It also is limited to 50 members. The initiation fee is $5,000 for graduates of the Junior Heritage Program, $10,000 for non-graduates. Monthly dues are $145.
Call HCC at 441-9400 for more information on all three programs.
Hawaii's own
Benny Agbayani, Mets: The St. Louis and Hawaii Pacific alumnus led off the game with a single and added another in the seventh in the Mets' 5-2 loss to Tampa Bay. Agbayani's two hits in five trips to the plate raised his average to .293.Mike Fetters, Dodgers: The Iolani graduate did not pitch in the Dodgers' 2-1 win over the Angels.
[WINNERS]
Bronson Sardinha: The New York Yankees' newest million dollar man traded in the batting numbers he put up as a member of the Kamehameha baseball team for the 34th overall pick in the draft and the possibility of becoming either the next Graig Nettles or the first Bronson Sardinha.Mike Trapasso: Les Murakami is a tough act to follow, but the new University of Hawaii baseball coach got Coach Les' blessing, which should give him a few more months of grace period (just in case) tacked onto his honeymoon period.
