ISLE FILE
Andy Irons falls out of world title contention
Advertiser Staff
Kaua'i's Andy Irons fell out of contention for the 2006 world championship yesterday when he was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Billabong Pro Mundaka.
The fourth round and quarterfinals were completed in 3-foot waves at Bakio, Spain.
Irons won his fourth round heat, but was then eliminated by California's Bobby Martinez in the quarterfinals, 12.4-11.4.
Irons entered the contest ranked No. 3 on the World Championship Tour, but is now mathematically eliminated from catching current No. 1 Kelly Slater of Florida. Irons was the world champion in 2002, '03 and '04.
Slater won his quarterfinal heat yesterday, and can clinch his record eighth world championship by winning the contest.
Hawai'i surfers Bruce Irons and Pancho Sullivan were eliminated in the fourth round yesterday.
The Billabong Pro Mundaka is the ninth of 11 events on the 2006 World Championship Tour.
WINTER BASEBALL
YOUNG, SCHIERHOLTZ LEAD BEACHBOYS TO WIN
Eric Young Jr. went 3 for 5, including a double, and scored twice as the Waikiki BeachBoys beat the West Oahu CaneFires, 6-0, last night in a Hawaii Winter Baseball game at Hans L'Orange Park.
Nate Schierholtz had two RBIs, hitting a two-run single in the BeachBoys' four-run third inning.
Atsushi Nohmi (1-0), the second pitcher for the BeachBoys, earned the win, going four innings. The left-hander gave up two hits, while striking out three and walking two.
CHOY FOO'S SACRIFICE FLY LIFTS HONU TO 6-5 WIN
Kailua High alum Rodney Choy Foo hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning to bring in Takehiro Donoue with the winning run as the North Shore Honu beat the Honolulu Sharks, 6-5, last night at Les Murakami Stadium.
Donoue went 3 for 5 for the North Shore, driving in two runs.
Keisuke Hayashi (1-0) pitched 2 2/3 innings for the win, giving up no hits and walking one.
SOCCER
SEASIDER MEN RALLY TO BEAT HAWAI'I PACIFIC, 2-1
The Brigham Young-Hawai'i men's soccer team rallied from a one-goal deficit to top Hawai'i Pacific University, 2-1, yesterday in a Pacific West Conference game in a rain-soaked contest at HPU's Windward campus.
Gabe Sugar gave HPU a 1-0 lead 30:11 into the game with an unassisted goal, his second of the season.
The Seasiders tied it less than seven minutes later on an unassisted goal by Michael Akinaka. Kamuela Kamoe scored the game-winner at the 56:34 mark on an assist from Joshua Barney.
BYUH is 5-4 overall and 3-2 in the PacWest. HPU is 6-5-1 and 1-3-1.
BYUH-HPU WOMEN'S MATCH RAINED OUT
Yesterday's Pacific West Conference women's soccer match between Brigham Young-Hawai'i and Hawai'i Pacific University was postponed due to heavy rain. The field at the HPU Windward campus had several deep puddles and was ruled too dangerous to play on. A makeup date will be announced at a later time.
UH-HILO MEN, WOMEN FALL TO GRAND CANYON
Lindsay Countryman scored her third goal of the game in overtime to lift Grand Canyon to a 3-2 victory over UH-Hilo yesterday at Phoenix in a Pacific West Conference women's soccer match.
Kelly White and Healani Leite-Ah Yo scored for the Vulcans, who are 4-7-1 overall and 2-2-1 in conference play. Grand Canyon is 2-11-1 and 2-2-1.
Also yesterday in Phoenix, David Hague scored twice as Grand Canyon beat UH-Hilo, 3-0, in a men's Pacific West Conference soccer match.
The Vulcans are 4-5-2 overall and 1-2-2 in league, while Grand Canyon is 7-6-1 and 4-1.
BEACH VOLLEYBALL
LAMBERT, METZGER HONORED BY AVP
Punahou graduates Stein Metzger and Mike Lambert were named the 2006 men's beach volleyball Team of the Year at last week's AVP Players' Banquet.
Metzger and Lambert, who are both Olympians, played in 14 of 15 final fours this season, more than any other team. Their 11-match winning streak tied for longest of the season. They won the inaugural CROCS Cup by six points and went 67-15 in their first year together.
"In the middle of the season, we just picked up and took care of business," Metzger said.
Misty May-Treanor and Todd Rogers were named tour MVPs. Olympic gold medalists Kerri Walsh and May-Treanor were voted women's Team of the Year a fourth consecutive time.
All awards were voted on by AVP athletes.
Metzger, who played in the last Olympics on the beach, and Lambert, who was an indoor volleyball Olympian, start on the road to the Beijing Games in January. The qualification process runs from Jan. 1 to July 20, 2008, with 24 team vacancies for each gender. Participating teams will be decided based on the best eight performances in Olympic Qualification tournaments. There is a maximum of two teams per country.
GOLF
HAWAI'I TOURISM, PGA EXTEND MARKETING DEAL
The Hawai'i Tourism Authority and the PGA Tour signed an agreement to extend its marketing partnership through 2010, it was announced yesterday.
The agreement also includes an extension clause for 2011 to 2014.
The new contract ensures that the season-opening tournaments for the PGA and Champions tours will be held in Hawai'i. The current Hawai'i events include the Mercedes-Benz Championship, Sony Open in Hawai'i, MasterCard Championship, Turtle Bay Championship, Wendy's Champions Skins Game and the PGA Grand Slam of Golf.
The contract also includes support for two professional women's events and a guarantee that the PGA Tour will hold one of its annual meetings in Hawai'i during the new contract.
