Ryan Tanoue was perfect on half of his targets Saturday and earned the two highest scores in the nation this season.
Tanoue aiming
for NCAA title
Nevada senior Ryan Tanoue (Saint Louis '01 of Kaimuki) heads into his last NCAA air rifle championship meet Saturday with the two highest scores in the nation this season.
Tanoue, who was the NCAA champion in his freshman season of 2002, scored 597 of a possible 600 points last weekend against the Air Force Academy, tying his own school record.
He shot three perfect 100 scores in six targets.
Tanoue finished fourth at the NCAAs last season and fifth in 2003.
"I'm feeling good, shooting well," he said last night, and finishing his collegiate career with a second NCAA title "is definitely my goal Saturday."
Tanoue also scored 597 in October against Texas Christian.
Ryan's younger brother, Michael (Saint Louis '03), and Eric Okamoto (Saint Louis '04), HHSAA state high school champions the past two seasons, are also on the Nevada team but were not chosen to compete in nationals.
Michael Tanoue took third place with a score of 582 in last weekend's victory over Air Force.
WRESTLING
Senior Travis Lee, a classmate of Tanoue's at Saint Louis in 2001, became the first wrestler in Cornell history to win four Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association championships on Saturday.
He was named Ivy League Wrestler of the Year on Tuesday. He heads for the NCAA championships March 23-26 with the opportunity to become the first four-time All-American in Ivy League wrestling history.
Lee won the 133-pound title for the second year in a row at Easterns on Saturday after winning at 125 pounds in 2002 and 2003. His career record at Easterns was 15-0.
Lee extended his Cornell record for victories to 138. He is 32-1 this season and 138-13 in his career.
This is the 99th year of wrestling at Cornell.
After a scoreless first round in the championship match Saturday, Lee scored five takedowns and won 13-4 over Matt Ciasulli of Lehigh, earning the 14-team tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler award.
He allowed Ciasulli to escape (1 point) five times so that he could take him down again (2 points each time).
"It took me a while to get going, but once I got going I didn't have any trouble," Lee said.
Lee also received the Fletchers Award for posting the most points in the 101st Eastern tournament, held at the U.S. Naval Academy.
He is ranked first and second among 133-pounders in national polls.
"I have never met a more mentally tough individual," Cornell coach Rob Koll said. "Travis mentally wears down his opponents. He has the ability to block out the fatigue and pain. It just doesn't affect him."
BASEBALL
Washington State third baseman Zach McAngus (Kamehameha '03 of Hawaii Kai) was named to the 2005 Wallace watch list Tuesday by the College Baseball Foundation.
The Brooks Wallace Award was inaugurated last season to be given to the most outstanding Division I player in college baseball.
The first winner was Cal State Fullerton catcher Kurt Suzuki (Baldwin '01), who helped the Titans win last year's College World Series.
McAngus leads WSU in four offensive categories with a .364 batting average, 20 runs scored, 28 hits in 77 at-bats. He has had nine multiple-hit games, including 5-for-5 at Southeastern Louisiana on Feb. 12.
He is ranked in three offensive categories in the Pac-10 conference: third in runs scored, fifth in at-bats, and tied for fifth in hits.
The Wallace watch list contains 109 players, including nine from the Pac-10. It is dedicated to the memory of former Texas Tech shortstop and assistant coach Brooks Wallace.
The list will be trimmed to 12 semifinalists on May 14, with the three finalists being announced at the College World Series in Omaha, Neb., on June 16.
» San Francisco junior right-hander Patrick McGuigan (Mid-Pacific '02) pitched six scoreless innings against Southern Utah on Tuesday before two home runs ended his shutout. But he won 10-3 at Fresno to go to 2-0, striking out seven and allowing four hits in seven innings.
Last year McGuigan was a relief pitcher with 31 appearances, a USF record six saves and a team-leading 2.61 earned-run average.
McGuigan was the Hawaii Player of the Year for state champion Mid-Pacific in 2002.
TENNIS
Loyola Marymount sophomore Kimi Kaloi (Kamehameha '03 of Wahiawa) and her partner were named the West Coast Conference Doubles Team of the Month for February.
Kaloi and Erin Ivey, also a sophomore, had a 3-1 record in February, including two victories over ranked programs.
Against Cal State Fullerton, Kaloi and Ivey were down 7-3, but won 10-8 to secure the doubles point for Loyola, which earned its first team victory of 2005.
Last season, Kaloi was a first-team All-West Coast Conference selection in doubles with teammate Carla Arguelles.
Her older sister, Janalle, is a senior on the Santa Clara tennis team and her younger sister, Heidi, signed last month with UC Irvine.
SOCCER
Brigham Young junior midfielder Charlene Lui (Punahou '02 of Waialae Iki) electrified the crowd at the UNLV spring tournament when she dribbled past four defenders and passed to Annie Zwahlen, who scored her third goal of the game. But BYU lost to defending Mountain West Conference champion UNLV 2-1.
BASKETBALL
UC Santa Barbara senior Brandy Richardson (Kalaheo '01) was chosen second-team All-Big West Conference, but her chances of playing in this weekend's Big West tournament are "remote," a team spokesman said.
Richardson missed the final five regular-season games with a sprained left ankle that has not responded to treatment.
She was honorable mention All-Big West the past two seasons and last year was the league's Defensive Player of the Year.
Richardson averaged 8.3 rebounds per game, seventh in the Big West, and moved into seventh place on UCSB's career rebounding list with 822.
» Washington State point guard Derrick Low (Iolani '04 of Liliha) was named honorable mention Pac-10 All-Freshman. Low's 63 assists rank sixth on the Cougar single-season freshman list.
» Barton County (Kansas) freshman Sunshine Misa-Uli (Farrington '04) got a career-high 15 rebounds and 13 points Saturday -- her fourth double-double of the season -- but her team lost 62-60 at Seward County.
Seward, ranked No. 6 in the NJCAA, has a 182-2 record in its home gym in the past 14 seasons.
MEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Hunter (New York) freshman setter Brandon Caban (Mililani '04 of Wahiawa) leads the City University of New York conference in assists with 10.6 per game.
Caban was chosen CUNY Rookie of the Week on Feb. 22 after he had 65 assists in a four-set victory over City Tech. Last week he had 44 and 43 assists in two victories.
He also leads the team with 14 aces.
» Pacific (Calif.) senior Brian Zodrow (Saint Louis '01 of Kahaluu) ranks fourth in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in kills with 4.39 per game and Pepperdine senior James Ka (Kamehameha '00 of Hilo) is fifth in digs with 2.22 per game through last week.
Kometani returns to lead
Waves’ pitching staff
Pepperdine pitcher Kea Kometani was bummed when he was not picked in the major league draft last June."Every one around here thought I would be," he says. "My expectations were not met and I was pretty disappointed."
But today the 2001 Punahou graduate from Kahala has a different perspective.
"I get to graduate this year and I still have a chance to play in the pros," Kometani told Hawaii Grown on Tuesday night.
And his pitching rŽsumŽ is much more impressive after two outstanding games against top-five teams in the last two weeks.
Kometani pitched impressively in losing to No. 1 Tulane 3-0 on Feb. 25, giving up three runs, two earned, and 11 hits in eight innings. He walked three and struck out six, facing 35 batters.
And he was even more impressive Friday, defeating No. 5 South Carolina.
He struck out a career-high 10 batters in 8 2/3 innings as the Waves dealt the Gamecocks their first loss of the season, 7-5 at the Minneapolis Metrodome.
Kometani (2-2) retired 12 of the first 13 batters he faced. He was one out away from a complete game before the Gamecocks rallied for four runs (three unearned) in the ninth inning.
"Stuff-wise, I am pretty similar to last season, but I have made a lot of improvement pitching," he said.
"I've got better location and a better idea of what to do in different situations.
"Last year, starting was kind of like something new for me (he had been a reliever his first two years at Pepperdine). This year I am going out with more confidence," Kometani said.
Kometani, a right-hander, is not overpowering. His fastball tops out at around 88 miles per hour, but he has good control of his splitter and slider. He did not walk anyone against South Carolina.
Besides the victory, pitching in a dome was "kind of cool," Kometani said. "It was pretty exciting playing in a pro stadium. I had never pitched in a dome before."
If baseball does not work out for Kometani, he has a good fall-back. He will graduate in late April with a degree in economics and a 3.8 grade-point average.
Iolani teammates are
now Pac-10 rivals
Former Iolani teammates Hongzhe Sun and Mark Eckert Jr., now rivals at Stanford and California, respectively, finished 1-2 last weekend in the 200-yard backstroke at the Pac-10 swimming championships. Sun (Iolani '03 of Ewa Beach) and Eckert (Iolani '04 of McCully) both qualified for the NCAA Championships at Indianapolis on March 24-26.
"It was cool," Sun said last night, "definitely exciting to swim with Mark again -- just like old times."
Given the rivalry between Stanford and Cal, there was no small talk between them, however. Cal had upset Stanford 129-114 in a dual meet on Feb. 19.
"They were after our (Pac-10) title and we weren't ready to give it up," Sun said. "We were radio silent."
Stanford made up for the dual-meet loss and won its 24th straight Pac-10 championship.
Sun has qualified for NCAAs in three events and will be considered in a fourth.
Sun and California senior Caleb Rowe, a 2001 Baldwin graduate, rank third in the nation in their respective best strokes -- Sun in the 200 backstroke in 1 minute, 41.25 seconds and Rowe in the 200 breaststroke in 1:55.86.
Rowe has qualified for NCAAs in two events and junior Nick Borreca (Punahou '02 of Manoa) will be considered in two events (times ranked 31st and 39th) and is leadoff man in a relay that has qualified.
UC-Irvine freshman Chelsea Nagata (Maui '04) is ranked ninth in the women's 50 freestyle and San Diego junior Ashley Swart (Kaiser '02) is 50th in the 400 individual medley.
Nagata has qualified for the NCAA women's championships next weekend at West Lafayette, Ind.
Sun, who was Pac-10 freshman of the year last season, is ranked in the top 18 in four individual events in this week's Taper & Shave magazine national collegiate Quick 50.
He is swimming faster than he ever has in his life. His 200 backstroke last weekend beat his best career time by 1.5 seconds and his 100 backstroke is his fastest by a full second, he said.
Sun said the last time he swam at Indianapolis, three years ago, "I didn't do well. But I'm going to change that."
Hawaii swimmers
in College Quick 50
Rank Time Swimmer College High school Men 50 freestyle 3 1:19.97 Nick Borreca Florida Punahou '01 Men 100 Backstroke 7 46.83 Hongzhe Sun Stanford Iolani '03 Men 200 Backstroke 3 1:41.25 Hongzhe Sun Stanford Iolani '03 15 1:44.46 Mark Eckert Jr. California Iolani '04 Men 100 Breaststroke 5 :53.31 Caleb Rowe California Baldwin '01 Men 200 Breaststroke 3 1:55.86 Caleb Rowe California Baldwin '01 Men 200 Butterfly 18 1:45.58 Hongzhe Sun Stanford Iolani '03 39 1:46.91 Nick Borreca Florida Punahou '01 Men 200 Individual Medley 10 1:45.56 Hongzhe Sun Stanford Iolani '03 Women 100 Butterfly 9 :53.54 Chelsea Nagata UC Irvine Maui '04 Women 400 Individual Medley 50 4:19.11 Ashley Swart U. of San Diego Kaiser '02
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