Kemoeatu tears achilles' tendon

SPARTANBURG, S.C. » Maake Kemoeatu lasted less than 30 minutes in Carolina's first training camp practice yesterday before tearing his right Achilles' tendon, leaving the Panthers in disarray at the position where they entered with the least depth.

The injury takes several months to heal, likely ending the Kahuku alum's season.

The 6-foot-5, 345-pound Kemoeatu was the key cog in Carolina's run defense, often drawing double teams and opening up lanes for speedy middle linebacker Jon Beason to make plays.

Beason praised the eight-year pro for helping him become Carolina's leading tackler the past two seasons.

“;It's like night and day. That New York game, it was bad,”; Beason said, referring to a game last season in which the Panthers allowed the Giants 301 rushing yards while Kemoeatu sat with an injury.

Kim 1 back at Women's Amateur

ST. LOUIS » Amy Anderson shot a 3-under 68 in the first round of stroke play at the U.S. Women's Amateur to take a one-shot lead yesterday.

Anderson, 17, of Oxbow, N.D., earned medalist honors at the U.S. Girls' Junior last month at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J. She went on to win the championship, which gave her a full exemption into this week's field at the 6,422-yard, par-71 Old Warson Country Club.

Finishing one stroke off Anderson's pace were 17-year-olds Kimberly Kim of Hilo, Hawaii, and Ha Na Jang of Korea.

In 2006, Kim became the youngest U.S. Women's Amateur winner with her victory at age 14 at Pumpkin Ridge in North Plains, Ore. She was the runner-up this year at the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links and the U.S. Girls' Junior.

After a second day of stroke play today, the U.S. Women's Amateur field will be reduced to 64 players for match play.

Hoops pairings announced today

The bracket pairings for the inaugural Diamond Head Classic will be announced on ESPNews this morning.

ESPNews will announce the DHC matchups from 8 to 9 a.m., as well as those in its other eight-team college basketball tournaments—the Old Spice Classic, the 76 Classic, the Charleston Classic and the O'Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off.

The DHC field includes host Hawaii, USC, UNLV, Saint Mary's, College of Charleston, Northeastern, Western Michigan and SMU. Ten of the 12 games in the tourney will be televised on the ESPN networks on Dec. 22, 23 and 25.

Wahine volleyball favored in WAC

Western Athletic Conference women's volleyball coaches expect Hawaii to claim its 14th consecutive regular-season WAC title.

The Rainbow Wahine received eight of the nine first-place votes in the coaches poll. New Mexico State earned the other first-place vote.

Hawaii is coming off a 31-4 season in which the Rainbow Wahine earned their ninth WAC tournament title.

Wichmann wins Bates award

Hawaii track and field athlete Annett Wichmann was named the female recipient of the 2008-09 Western Athletic Conference Stan Bates Award.

The four-time academic All-WAC honoree and three-time Academic All-American nominee set a Hawaii record with seven NCAA championship appearances and broke more than 40 school records.

She became the first athlete in WAC history to win the heptathlon four times at the conference championships and was a three-time pentathlon winner. She also medaled in the high jump and the javelin.

Wichmann, who was named the co-field athlete of the meet at both the WAC indoor and outdoor championships, is the sixth UH student-athlete to win the award, and the third women's winner. The list includes Lauri Hakala, Tracie Uchima, Angelica Ljungquist, Jason Elam and Blane Gaison.

The award, which recognizes the recipients' academic and athletic achievements, also comes with a $2,000 postgraduate scholarship.

Nakama joins UW baseball staff

Kaiser High graduate Dave Nakama was named an assistant coach under Lenny Meggs with the University of Washington baseball team.

Nakama spent 10 seasons at Stanford, working with the Cardinal's infielders and hitters while coaching first base during games.

He is also a former coach with the Hawaii Island Movers summer baseball team.

“;Having Dave on staff is like having another head coach in the dugout,”; said Meggs, who was recently hired by the Huskies. “;He has all those intangibles.”;

[ PACWEST PLACE ]

Fossati joins HPU golf team

Hawaii Pacific added Alessandro Fossati to its men's golf team for the 2009 season.

Fossati comes in as a freshman after graduating from the Hank Haney International Junior Golf Academy in South Carolina.

During the summer, Fossati played in two tournaments and won both. He finished first in an event on the International Junior Golf Tour and then took top honors at the Des Iles Borromees Junior event held in his native Italy.

The Sea Warriors return all but one golfer for the upcoming season, led by PacWest newcomer of the year Connor Rumpf.