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Agent: Sopoaga strongest at NFL Draft combine

Former Hawaii defensive tackle Isaac Sopoaga bench-pressed 225 pounds 42 times in Indianapolis yesterday, more than any other player to lift yesterday at the NFL combine, his agent said.

Sopoaga weighed in at 317 pounds and is expected to finish the week with the highest score and could have lifted the bar a few more times, said Kenny Zuckerman, Sopoaga's agent.

"They usually struggle to get that last lift," Zuckerman said. "Isaac still had some gas left in the tank and could have kept going."

ESPN.com columnist Len Pasquarelli wrote last night that Sopoaga could be a steal in the middle rounds.

Defensive end Travis LaBoy, who weighed in at 263 pounds, was in a group that spent all of yesterday taking a physical, and is expected to lift today. He expects to lift the bar 33-35 times, which would be the most for a defensive end at the camp.

Ho advances in Hansen Pro

Derek Ho notched a 7.83 on the last wave of his heat to propel himself from fourth to first and advance to the quarterfinals of the Hansen Pro yesterday at Pipeline.

With waves rising to 12-15 feet, the ocean put its mark on the event, sending South African Daniel Redman to the hospital after a wipeout. Redman suffered a broken left eardrum, stitches above his right eye and a 2-inch gash above his right ear.

Fred Patacchia and Pancho Sullivan are two of the 12 remaining Hawaii surfers in the 16-man field.

Griffin leads Vulcans over Yellowjackets

Justin Griffin scored 27 points and Joe Travis added 25 as Hawaii-Hilo took advantage of a tired Montana State-Billings squad in Hilo last night.

The Vulcans (15-7, 7-5 PacWest) climbed within 2 1/2 games of first-place Brigham Young-Hawaii with three games left to play.

The Yellowjackets (15-10, 6-8) had five players play all 40 minutes in the game, and Buddy Windy Boy led all scorers with 32 points.

Rainbow Wahine softball team splits pair

The University of Hawaii softball team defeated Loyola (Chicago) 9-3 in the first of two games yesterday in the CampbellCartier Classic at San Diego St.

Shannon Tabion improved to 5-1 for the season, pitching a complete game for the Wahine. She struck out five and walked one.

However not all was good for the Wahine, as they were defeated 8-4 at the hands of San Diego State in the second game of the day.

Vulcans sweep Silverswords: The UH-Hilo Vulcans completed their third straight softball sweep with 5-0 and 5-3 victories over Chaminade yesterday.

Sarah Steele dominated game one, throwing a three-hit shutout while striking out four. Nancy Vega drove in the game-winner in the second game.

Sea Warriors split with Seasiders: The BYU-Hawaii softball team avenged a loss earlier in the day to win the second game of a doubleheader with Hawaii Pacific 2-1.

Brooke Hilton scattered five hits to pick up the win for BYU-Hawaii.

UH completes third Sunrise meet of the season

The UH women's track and field squad warmed up for the 2004 Indoor WAC championships by competing in their third Sunrise meet of the season.

Kelsey Smith put up one of the more impressive scores of the day in the javelin (37.48), the sixth highest score in UH history. Novelle Murray placed first in the 20 lbs. weight throw, as well as setting the record in the coconut toss with a throw of 26.31.

This is the last tuneup for the team, which will take part in the WAC Indoor Championships next weekend at Boise State.

BYUH defeats UH-Hilo in tennis

The BYU-Hawaii men's and women's tennis teams took care of business against the UH-Hilo Vulcans yesterday.

The top-ranked women won their 70th consecutive match, 8-1 over UH-Hilo. The defending NCAA Division II national champions swept all the doubles matches and won all but one singles match. Second-ranked women's player Adrienn Hegedus easily defeated Dorothee Beauvir in the No. 1 singles positions 6-0, 6-1.

The men's team also won its match, improving to 3-1 for the season with the 8-1 victory over the Vulcans.

Dorian Porada and Jeff Rice avenged Friday's doubles loss by defeating Karl and Staffan Moritz 8-3 in the No. 2 doubles position.

Up next for BYU-Hawaii is Chaminade tomorrow in Laie at 2 p.m.

Mugiishi, Nelson, Dey on QB Club agenda

University of Hawaii tennis coach John Nelson, Hawaiian Islanders general manager Chris Dey, and Mark Mugiishi, head coach of the No. 1 ranked Iolani Raiders boys basketball team, will speak at tomorrow's Quarterback Club luncheon.

Lunch begins at 11:30 a.m. at the Pagoda restaurant with the program beginning at noon.

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