Owls deal Wahine
first WAC loss

Rice got a goal from Sarah Yoder at 4:10 in the first overtime period to edge visiting Hawaii 3-2 yesterday in a Western Athletic Conference women's soccer match.

The Wahine (1-1 WAC, 4-6 overall) twice held one-goal leads but failed to hold the advantage against the Owls, a first-year program.

Carmel Hurley scored at 5:23 with a left-footed shot from inside the box after taking a long pass from Tiffany Makue. It was her second goal in as many matches.

Kelly Potysman evened the score for Rice when she connected on a direct free kick from outside the 18-yard line just before halftime.

Arlene Devitt, who sat out most of the first half at her own request after receiving a very questionable yellow card in the eyes of UH coach Pinsoom Tenzing, put the Wahine ahead early in the second half. She received a well-placed pass from Veronica Flores and scored her fifth goal of the season.

The Owls (2-1-0, 3-6-0) got the equalizer midway through the second half when Potysman dribbled between two UH defenders and beat goalkeeper Jennifer Churchill.

All three Rice goals came from outside the penalty box.

Tenzing is frustrated at the way Devitt is being treated during matches.

"She is double-teamed all the time and the opposing coaches are telling the refs about her before the game," Tenzing said.

"I feel sorry for the kid. She is a divine player, well-balanced and she makes passes at the precise moment. She asked to come out because she didn't understand why she got the card. It was just two players going for the ball. Without her, the quality of the game changes.

"We played well at times, but we also played sloppy. We had this game in hand."

The Wahine conclude their road trip with a match today at Stephen F. Austin (7-3-1) in Nacogdoches, Texas.

Otagaki kicks winner: Punahou graduate Erin Otagaki scored what proved to be the winning goal as the Washington women's soccer team opened defense of its Pac-10 title with a 2-1 victory over Washington State on Saturday in Seattle.

Hawaii tennis team fourth at USA event

A local tennis team captained by Gaye Fujimoto lost its final two matches yesterday to settle for fourth place at the USA League Tennis Adult National Championships at San Diego, Calif.

Oahu lost to Missoula, Mont., 3-2 in its final match and fell to Louisville, Ky., by the same score in the semifinals.

Flanagan finishes XTERRA race

World-class swimmer John Flanagan finished his first XTERRA World Championship on Maui yesterday, placing 177th.

The race is a 1.5-kilometer ocean swim, a 30K mountain bike course and an 11K trail run.

Flanagan was the fastest through the water, though, exiting 36 seconds ahead of North Shore lifeguard Glenn Wachtel.

Lou Ortiz was the top Hawaii finisher, placing 35th, followed by Peter Hursty in 51st.

Conrad Stoltz of South Africa won the overall title with a time of 2 hours, 28 minutes, 48 seconds --nine seconds faster than Kerry Classen of California. Anke Erlank of South Africa took the women's title in 3:59. Cherie Touchette of California placed second in 3:11:51.

HPU squeezes past Chaminade in 5 games

The Hawaii Pacific volleyball team got back to its winning ways Saturday, outlasting Chaminade 26-30, 27-30, 30-22, 30-18, 15-12 at McCabe Gym.

HPU outside hitter Roberta Robert buried 26 kills and Nia Tuitele dished out 60 assists.

Julianne Hastert led the Silverswords with 20 kills.

Seasiders keep pace: At Laie, Ashley Moeai had 18 kills to lead Brigham Young-Hawaii to a sweep over last place Hawaii-Hilo 30-27, 31-29, 30-25.