Kaufman wins high jump gold

Hawaii dual-sport athlete Amber Kaufman won the high jump event yesterday at the University of Washington's Indoor Preview in Seattle to qualify for the NCAA track and field championships.

Kaufman, who helped the Rainbow Wahine volleyball team reach the national semifinals last month, cleared 1.87 meters (6 feet, 1.50 inches) to win her flight. The automatic qualifying standard is 1.85 meters.

Kaufman's personal best is 1.93 meters. The All-American has won three conference high jump titles and was third at last year's NCAA outdoor championships.

UH men's tennis opens with win

The Hawaii men's tennis team swept three doubles matches to set the tone in yesterday's season opener as the No. 41 Rainbow Warriors topped Saint Mary's 6-1 at the UH Tennis Complex.

Dennis Lajola, the Warriors' No. 1 player, breezed past Lucas Trelli 6-2, 6-0, and No. 2 Andreas Weber swept past Andrea Zannoni 6-0, 6-1.

UH's lone loss came at No. 5 singles when the Gaels' Youssef El Bouzkouri edged Philipp Eberhard 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (2).

Vulcans hold on to top Seasiders

Hina Kimitete and Natalie Mata each scored 16 points as Hawaii-Hilo held off Brigham Young-Hawaii 64-60 last night in a Pacific West Conference women's basketball game at the UHH gym.

Kayce Kirihara came off the bench for 10 points and the Vulcans (4-11, 1-3) took advantage at the free-throw line, sinking 24 of 30 attempts for their first conference victory. With the game tied 58-58 with 74 seconds left, UHH hit six consecutive free throws to ice the win.

Richelle Fenenbock led the Seasiders (4-9, 0-3) with 26 points, including 18 on six 3-pointers. Mahina Gago added 10 for BYUH, 9-for-17 from the line.

The Vulcans trailed by as many as eight points (17-9) in the first half but rallied to tie it at 28 at halftime.

“;The second half our kids came out and played a much better game,”; UHH head coach Daphne Honma said after her team snapped a five-game losing streak. “;We talked about rebounding and I think that made a big difference. It was a mental thing. They decided they wanted to do it and they got it done.”;

BYUH finished with a 33-28 advantage on the boards, eight from Gago.