BYU-HAWAII WOMEN BIG WINNERS IN FALL PACWEST SEASON, CHASE FOR HOOPS TITLE BEGINS
By Commissioner Bob Hogue
When the University of Hawaii at Hilo secured the PacWest Commissioner’s Cup last year, they had to wait until the final day of the final competition last spring to clinch the award ahead of runner-up BYU-Hawaii.
This year, the Seasiders appear to remember their last-second loss of the coveted trophy—and they have made a real statement at the beginning of the 2008-09 PacWest fall sports season. In unprecedented fashion, all three of the BYU-Hawaii women’s teams this fall won conference championships.
First, the Seasiders’ women’s cross country squad took home the title in the Hawaiian Airlines PacWest Championships at Turtle Bay Resort. BYU-Hawaii’s Amanda Whitford also won the individual title on her way to eventually gaining a berth in the NCAA national championships.
Second, the Seasiders wrestled away the PacWest women’s volleyball title from defending champion UH Hilo. BYU-Hawaii won its first twelve games in securing the title and the conference’s automatic berth in the NCAA tournament. UH Hilo finished a strong second and led the west region with 21 total regular season victories.
And third, the Seasiders won the incredibly competitive women’s soccer race on the final day of the conference season. With UH Hilo and Dixie State still in the hunt for the championship, BYU-Hawaii outkicked Notre Dame de Namur to win their second straight PacWest title. Dixie State finished second and UH Hilo third.
Those three conference titles give BYU-Hawaii a strong lead in the early point totals in the chase for the Commissioner’s Cup.
On the men’s side, Notre Dame edged out a crowded field in men’s soccer. The Argonauts beat BYU-Hawaii on the final day of the regular season to finish one point ahead of runner-up HPU. The men’s soccer race had no less than four teams in the title chase going into the final week, including defending champion Grand Canyon and UH Hilo.
For the second straight year, Hawaii Pacific won the Hawaiian Airlines PacWest men’s cross country championship. The individual winner of the event was Edward Kibet of Academy of Art.
With five sports wrapped up, the attention now switches to the two primary sports of the winter season—men’s and women’s basketball. Chaminade won the men’s title last year, while Grand Canyon took home the women’s championship. This year’s winners will earn an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament—a first for the women’s teams in the PacWest.
BYU-Hawaii was the pre-season pick of the coaches to finish first on the men’s side. Grand Canyon took that honor on the women’s side. The reality, however, is that every team is in the hunt in a race that might not be decided on both sides until the final week of the season.
Several PacWest basketball games will be televised this winter, including a national telecast by CBS-TV of Chaminade and Dixie State on January 3, 2009. Five games involving Hawaii schools—Chaminade, BYU-Hawaii, HPU, and UH Hilo—will be televised from January through March on OC16.
HH Basketball Photo courtesy of Timothy Wright