Alex Ching's accomplishments as a sophomore at San Diego are as follows:

First-team All-West Coast Conference; team-leading scoring average of 72.51 through 32 rounds; eighth-place finish in the 2010 WCC Championships; four top-five finishes in spring tournaments; individual medalist honors at the Mardi Gras Invitational; course-record 64 at the TPC Louisiana, site of the PGA Tour's Zurich Classic.

Based on that, it sure has been a heck of a season for the 2008 Punahou graduate, right?

“;It's been a struggle, actually,”; Ching said. “;I came off a good season last year and had a lot of momentum coming into my sophomore year, but I think I took a little too much for granted and haven't had that great of a year.”;

To say Ching's expectations for himself are quite high would be an understatement. The 2009 PING freshman All-American says he hasn't played a complete tournament all season.

“;I finished the fall placing dead last in an All-American tournament, which is pretty sad,”; Ching said. “;I start to think I'm getting into a groove and then something happens where I'm just not able to put it all together.”;

If he does, it's scary to think what the future holds for Ching, who will compete in one of the six NCAA regional tournaments May 20-22 to advance to the NCAA championships.

The Toreros made it to nationals for the first time last year, where Ching finished tied for 13th place.

But again, he wasn't satisfied.

“;I was actually leading going into the final day,”; Ching said. “;I didn't really compete in that last round though, it was just a bad day.”;

The NCAAs mark the end of the collegiate season for Ching, but it's just the start of a busy summer. Ching has already made plans to compete in amateur events in Oregon and Canada, but his biggest tournament will be in Scotland at the British Amateur in the middle of June.

The tournament will be played at Muirfield, which has hosted the British Open in the past.

“;It ranks right up there with the U.S. Amateur and the Sony Open,”; Ching said when comparing it to the biggest tournaments he played in.

Ching shot back-to-back 72s, just barely missing the cut at the Sony Open in 2008, which he qualified for after winning the Governor's Cup.

At the time, Ching was a senior at Punahou, and decided to attend San Diego, which was the closest thing to staying at home.

“;Being from Hawaii, it's pretty hard going anywhere better than that, and San Diego was the closest thing,”; Ching said. “;I fell in love with the city and being able to have a little taste of Hawaii here is pretty nice.”;

It didn't hurt either that he was recruited by Toreros coach Tim Mickelson, the brother of PGA Tour professional Phil Mickelson.

“;I got to play with (Phil) last year and it was such a cool experience,”; Ching said. “;He hits the ball further and straighter than anyone I've seen and his short game is just something to see. Watching him finesse the ball around the greens was pretty unreal.”;

Pacific's Bonk makes cut at NCAAs

A 5-over 77 wasn't the round Pacific (Ore.) junior Max Bonk wanted, but it was still enough to make the cut at the NCAA Division III men's championships yesterday in Hershey, Pa.

The 2007 Hawaii Prep graduate started the day five shots off the lead, but bogeyed three of his first four holes. A birdie on the par-5 ninth hole temporarily stopped the bleeding, but Bonk had three more bogeys on the back nine before salvaging a birdie on 18.

“;I just couldn't get anything going,”; Bonk said. “;My swing didn't feel quite right and neither did my putting. I had a lot of three-putts.”;

Bonk sits in a tie for 25th place, 13 shots behind the leader, at 8-over 151. He just barely survived the cut, which was at 9-over 152.

The final two rounds of the tournament will be held at the Hershey Links course. The third round was scheduled to begin today at 1:30 a.m. Hawaii time.

Notables

BASEBALL
» Puget Sound senior Jarvis Nohara ('Iolani '06) was named to the All-Northwest Conference first team as a utility player, and Pacific (Ore.) senior Kaeo Lau Hee (Kamehameha-Maui '06) was named to the second team on Monday. Nohara was 4-1 with a 3.60 ERA as a pitcher and started 37 of the team's 40 games at shortstop, including a game April 20 in which he played all nine positions. Lau Hee finished fourth in the conference with a .410 batting average and set a Boxers single-season record with 18 doubles. Pacific (Ore.) sophomore Mike Nagamine (Mid-Pacific '08) and senior shortstop Brandon Kon (Castle '06), and Puget Sound senior Doug Cox (Kalaheo '06) earned honorable mention honors.
» San Diego freshman Kalei Hanawahine (Kamehameha '09) went 2-for-4 with two RBIs in a 9-2 win over Portland on Sunday to finish off a three-game sweep. The Toreros had an eight-game win streak snapped in a 13-4 loss to Oregon on Tuesday.

SOFTBALL
» Southern Oregon senior Meghan Laughlin (Mid-Pacific '06) was named to the All-Cascade Conference team and won her second straight Gold Glove award for her play in the outfield. Laughlin finished second on the team with a .369 batting average and was second in the league with three triples. She was named all-conference three times and finishes her career second on the school's all-time list in doubles (31) and triples (eight). She also finishes fourth on the school list in batting average (.381) and fifth in hits (126), total bases (186) and RBIs (76).
» Mississippi State sophomore Kaili Smith (Kapolei '08) went 3-for-9 with a run and an RBI in the final series of the season as the Bulldogs were swept by Alabama over the weekend. Smith finishes the season hitting .329 with 10 home runs and 50 RBIs.
» East Carolina senior Marina Gusman-Brown (Pearl City '06) was named to the All-Conference USA first team on Tuesday. Gusman-Brown finished the season leading the team in batting average (.331), home runs (12), RBIs (36), slugging percentage (.656) and stolen bases (27). Senior Charina Sumner (Kamehameha '06) was selected to the second team after finishing the season with a .328 average, 10 doubles, five triples and 33 runs scored.
» Eastern Kentucky junior Noelani Esperas (Kamehameha '07) tossed a five-inning no-hitter in the final game of the season when the Colonels won 8-0 over Austin Peay. Esperas allowed two walks and struck out one, and got offensive support from junior DeAnn Horswill (Kalaheo '07), who singled and drove in three runs.

WOMEN'S GOLF
» UCLA sophomore Stephanie Kono (Punahou '08) tied for 10th place with a 7-over 220 at the NCAA West regional in Stanford, Calif., on Saturday. Kono shot a final-round 75 to help the Bruins secure their 10th consecutive berth in the NCAA championships. Portland State freshman Britney Yada (Waiakea '09) shot a 16-over 229 to finish in 49th place.
» New Mexico senior Britney Choy (Leilehua '06) shot a final-round 78 to close with a 21-over 237 to help the Lobos finish fourth in the NCAA Central regional in Columbus, Ind., on Saturday. Choy finished in a tie for 38th place to help the Lobos clinch their 15th trip to the NCAA championships. Tulsa freshman Kristina Merkle (Moanalua '09) finished in a tie for 45th place with a 238 after a final-round 74.
» James Madison sophomore Nicole Sakamoto (Kalani '08) shot a 5-over 77 in the final round of the NCAA East regional on Saturday in Greenville, N.C. Sakamoto finished with a three-day total of 8-over 224 to finish in a tie for 54th. Furman (S.C.) junior Jackie Hilea (Moanalua '07) shot a final-round 74 to shoot a 229 to tie for 78th.