The Brigham Young-Hawai'i men's basketball team is ranked No. 1 by Division II Bulletin and No. 2 by the Sporting News in preseason national rankings.

The Seasiders went 27-2 last year and finished ranked third nationally. They return Daktronics NCAA II National Player of the Year Lucas Alves and Cousy Award finalist Virgil J.R. Buensuceso. Also returning are Marques Whippy and Tsung-Hsien "Jet" Chang, the 2009 Pacific West Conference Freshman of the Year.

"This is the first time a team from Hawai'i has been ranked number one in our preseason Top 25," said Gary Rubin, publisher of Division II Bulletin. "It was a difficult decision, but we felt BYU-Hawai'i has the talent to carry onto the national stage."

BYUH will open the season Nov. 5 with an exhibition game against the University of Hawai'i at the Stan Sheriff Center.

TENNIS

UH OPENS TODAY

The University of Hawai'i women's tennis team begins its season with the Rainbow Wahine Invitational, today to Saturday at the UH Tennis Complex. Matches begin at 3 p.m. on the weekdays and 10 a.m. Saturday.

Texas State and Hawai'i Pacific join the 'Bows for the three-day tournament.

The Rainbow Wahine return sophomores Aglae Van den Bergh, Alyssa Nafarrete, and Dasha Lagmay, junior Natasha Zorec and senior Sophie Kobuch. Kobuch, a two-time all-Western Athletic Conference selection, is sidelined this week, along with Zorec.

Joining the Rainbows this season are freshmen Maraike Biglmaier, Mari Tadaki, Katarina Poljakova and Alison Gobel, and sophomore Barbara Pinterova, a transfer from University of Florida.

Head coach Jun Hernandez returns for his fifth season. The schedule includes nationally-ranked California, Stanford, Boise State and Fresno State. Last year, the Rainbow Wahine finished with 13 wins, their highest total in eight years, and advanced to the WAC Tournament semifinals for the first time in history.