StarBulletin.com

Hawaii Grown Report


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POSTED: Friday, April 24, 2009

Kitamori honored

Pacific (Ore.) sophomore Valerie Kitamori (Waiakea '07) was named the Northwest Conference student-athlete of the week in women's golf Monday after earning medalist honors in the final tournament of the regular season.

Kitamori won the Boxer Invitational on Sunday, finishing with a 5-over 77 to earn a one-stroke victory. Kitamori's performance helped the Boxers finish third in the team standings.

Kitamori will try to help the Boxers win the conference championship this weekend at the NWC Championships in Yakima, Wash.

Ching WCC's top freshman

San Diego golfer Alex Ching (Punahou '08) capped off an impressive first season for the Toreros by winning the West Coast Conference freshman of the year award as selected by the league's coaches.

Ching played in a team-high 34 rounds this season and had the best stroke average at 71.73. He finished tied for 15th place at the WCC Championships and had four top-10 finishes.

Notable

BASEBALL

» Arizona State freshman Jeeter Ishida (Punahou '08) allowed a walk and a hit before recording the final out in a 17-2 victory over Hawaii on Tuesday. It was the fifth appearance of the season for Ishida, who's 0-0 with a 5.06 ERA. He's allowed three runs on eight hits in 5 1/3 innings and walked five while striking out seven.

» Central Washington junior Sheldon Santiago (Saint Louis '05) hit a two-run homer in a 10-9 win over Whitworth in the first game of a doubleheader on Tuesday. Santiago has appeared in 14 games this season and is hitting .300.

» Brigham Young senior first baseman Kasey Ko (Punahou '05) went 2-for-7 with a double, home run and four RBIs in a doubleheader sweep of Utah on Saturday.

SOFTBALL

» Charleston Southern senior Gail Matsushima (Punahou '05) wrapped up her final regular season as the team's second-leading hitter. She started all 52 games for the Buccaneers and hit .324 with 15 doubles, three homers and 31 RBIs. She led team in doubles, slugging percentage (.529), walks (18) and on-base percentage (.443).

» Utah senior Sharee Fonoti (Kamehameha '04) went 4-for-6 with a home run and three runs scored as the Utes split a doubleheader against Southern Utah on Wednesday.

» Western Oregon sophomore Tierra-Lyn Cuba (Mililani '07) went 1-for-3 with a double and run scored as the Wolves defeated Saint Martin 6-3 on Sunday. Cuba and teammate Sasha Koki (St. Francis '07) will celebrate the one-year anniversary of the ESPY-winning moment when Central Washington players carried a Western Oregon player around the bases after she injured her knee rounding first on a home run. A ceremony will be held in the middle of Sunday's doubleheader between the two teams to honor the trio of players.

WOMEN'S TENNIS

» Pacific (Ore.) freshman Megan Yoshimoto (Mililani '08) and junior Dayna Wong (Waiakea '06) won both of their singles and doubles matches to help the Boxers defeat Lewis & Clark 6-3 in the first match of the Northwest Conference tournament.

The win was Pacific's first in the NWC tournament in 10 years. Yoshimoto teamed with Cat Goya (St. Andrew's '08) and Wong played with junior Jaime Yoshino (Kaiser '06) to win their doubles matches.

In singles competition, sophomore Stephanie Velligas (Kamehameha '07) picked up a win in the No. 5 position.

WOMEN'S WATER POLO

» Cal Lutheran freshman Jane Galluzzi (Punahou '08) scored three goals to lead the Regals to a 13-4 victory over La Verne on Sunday to finish the first round of conference play undefeated at 7-0.

» Loyola Marymount senior Kellen Fletcher (Punahou '05) scored a goal in the final regular-season game of her career as the Lions defeated UC Santa Barbara 14-6 on Saturday. LMU will try to win its seventh conference title beginning today at the Western Water Polo Association Championships in Santa Clara, Calif.

» Siena (N.Y.) senior Lauren Garrigan (Kamehameha '05) scored a hat trick in her final game for the Saints as Siena lost 9-6 to Wagner on Sunday. Garrigan's three goals gave her 83 for the year, breaking her own single-season school record she set last year. Siena missed out on the MAAC Championships, finishing a game behind St. Francis. Marist defeated Siena 9-2 earlier in the day, with the Saints getting a goal from sophomore Nicole Hagi (Kapolei '07).


Billy Hull, Star-Bulletin