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Pak takes first in California Judo tournament

Scott Pak of the Shobukan Judo Club strengthened his position as the No. 7 judoka in his weight class in the nation with a first-place showing recently in the San Jose Buddhist Tournament.

Pak, who competes at 66 kilograms, is trying to jump two spots into the top five in the nation so that he will be invited to the Olympic Trials in June.

Warriors move up to No. 2 in national poll

The Hawaii volleyball team left for its second road trip today with a new tag for its baggage: No. 2.

The Warriors (6-2) moved up a spot, trailing only UCLA in the USA Today/AVCA Top 15 poll released yesterday. The Bruins (10-1) received all 16 first-place votes.

This is the highest ranking of the season for Hawaii. BYU (7-3) moved up to No. 3 while former No. 2 Pepperdine (7-2) slipped to No. 4.

Hawaii (3-1 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) plays four conference matches in five days, taking on No. 9 Stanford Friday and Saturday, and No. 15 Pacific next Monday and Tuesday. The Cardinal are 5-7 overall, 3-5 in the MPSF; the Tigers are 2-6 and 3-9.

In the latest NCAA national statistics, Hawaii senior blocker Josh Stanhiser was ranked No. 1 in hitting percentage (.577) in matches played through last Thursday. Junior middle Delano Thomas was tied for second in ace average with 15 and was tied for 13th in points average (kills plus aces plus total blocks) with 4.72 ppg.

Warrior freshman setter Brian Beckwith was sixth in assist average (13.39) while sophomore libero Alfred Reft ranked No. 19 in dig average (2.05). As a team, Hawaii ranks eighth in hitting percentage (.307).

Seasiders slip up on road

BILLINGS, Mont. >> Jerett Skrifvars scored 18 points and three other Yellowjackets were in double figures last night as Montana State-Billings defeated Brigham Young of Hawaii 77-73 in a Pacific West game.

Jake Chrisman scored a game-high 38 points for the visitors (17-4, 7-2 PacWest), hitting 14 of 20 field goals and 8-for-9 at the free-throw line. Teammate Michael Stowell had 15 points.

MSUB (14-6, 5-4) led 31-24 at the half and BYU-Hawaii outscored the Yellowjackets 49-46 in the second half.

The loss narrowed BYUH's lead in the conference to two games with six remaining. The Yellowjackets will get a chance to pull within a game when they play the Seasiders again tomorrow.

Also in double figures for MSUB were Cameron Munoz and David Carse with 15 points each, and Buddy Windy Boy added 13.

Western New Mexico 86, Hawaii Pacific 63: At Silver City, N.M., Jason Jackson scored 18 points and Matt Enriquez added 17, including four 3-pointers each, to lead Western New Mexico to an 86-63 win over Hawaii Pacific last night.

Brendon Malone added 16 points for the Mustangs (9-10, 3-5).

The Mustangs were 10-30 from behind the arc for 33 percent 3-point shooting. The team hit 14 of 17 free throws.

Marvin Noble led Hawaii Pacific (7-13, 4-5) with 17 points, including 5-for-6 from the free-throw line. The team hit 31 of 68 shots from the field for 45 percent shooting.

Hawaii tennis players sweep WAC honors

Hawaii tennis players Dalibor Ptak and Renata Camargo were named the Western Athletic Conference's players of the week.

The honor came a little easier to Ptak than it did to Camargo, as Ptak was the only male nominated for the award. Ptak beat Loren Collins of Gustavus Adolphus 6-2, 6-2 in his only WAC match last week. Ptak, Hawaii's No. 1 player, is 6-2 in singles this season and 4-4 in doubles.

Camargo won both her matches last week, sweeping UC-Irvine's Veronica Fermin 6-0, 6-1 and beating Hannah Fredricks 6-0, 6-1. She is 4-2 in singles and unbeaten at 4-0 in doubles this season.

Triathlon trials go World class

The U.S. Olympic triathlon trials have just moved up to world class status.

The event became part of the World Cup circuit of the International Triathlon Union yesterday.

"It is ideal when a future world championship venue has the opportunity to host a World Cup event on the course in the year prior," ITU president Les McDonald said yesterday in a release. "It is a good learning experience for the organizing committee and the athletes alike. Many of us broke into the world endurance sport at the Honolulu marathon and it is always wonderful to return."

As a World Cup event, the U.S. trials will be part of an international points race that will draw the top international athletes to the field. International athletes can earn points to qualify for their respective country's Olympic teams.

The trials are slated for April 18. The event features a one mile swim, 25-mile bike ride and a 6.2 mile run. The U.S. triathletes ranked in the top 125 in points are expected to compete with the best male and female finisher qualifying for the 2004 U.S. Olympic team.

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