Sports Update
They arrive today at Barbers Point hardened by reality. Rainbow football opens
camp at Barbers PointThe contact high of last year's new coaching staff and the philosophic changes that came with it, was washed away in a 2-10 season that nearly tore in two the relationships between the athletic director and the head coach, between upper campus and lower campus, and between the athletic department and downtown.
Things are still tense between head coach Fred vonAppen and athletic director Hugh Yoshida as the players head to fall camp for the official start of the 1997 season.
The most recent bone of contention is the nonpayment of the television money for the coaches show that is an intricate part of vonAppen's $150,000 contract.
VonAppen said yesterday that the athletic department is behind in its payments by six months, which is equivalent to $24,000.
"When you remove $4,000 from your family operating budget each month, you're going to notice it," vonAppen said. "I've got a daughter in Punahou, who will be going to college soon."
Lost in all these off-the-field problems is a football team that has seen more coaching changes than George Steinbrenner's New York Yankees. The 11 fifth-year seniors have watched 28 coaches come and go since 1993.
As an example of the revolving door policy, cornerback Al Hunter said he has been coached by Chris Smeland, Don Lindsey, Ken Flajole, George Lumpkin, Trent Miles and Mickey Pruitt since graduating from St. Louis School. Add vonAppen and former head coach Bob Wagner to the mix, and it's a wonder if he's knows whether he's coming or going.
VonAppen appears to have stemmed the tide in terms of the number of academic failures that have plagued the program the last few years. Today it was announced that Tim Carey, Quincy Jacobs, Morrie Roe, Franklin Saunders and Blase Austin passed their summer school work and will be available this season.
"We still have several junior college guys who could be in trouble, but it's a much better situation than a year ago," vonAppen said.
On her personal scorecard, Anna Umemura has written the words: Focus, Tempo and Smile. They're verbal memos to herself. Umemura runs away
with state stroke playActually, she doesn't need the third reminder. She's always smiling.
But thanks to her focus and tempo, she had a lot more to smile about yesterday.
The Punahou School graduate made it a trifecta by winning the Hawaii State Women's Golf Association Stroke Play Championship, adding the title to victories in the HSWGA Match Play Championship and the Jennie K. Invitational. She is the first woman to win all three of those tournaments in the same year.
Umemura shot a one-under-par 72 for a 54-hole total of 219 at the Mid-Pacific Country Club course to beat challenger Christel Tomori by six strokes. Tomori, a 1996 University of Oregon graduate, wound up with a final-round 74.
"I never wanted a tournament more than this one for that triple crown," said Umemura, 18, who will leave in two weeks to enter the University of Tennessee on a golf scholarship.
"I wanted it so badly. I feel so good about it. But it really hasn't hit me yet," <P>said Umemura, who began with an eight-stroke lead after a career-best 69 in the first round.
KAILUA-KONA -- The Pajaro Valley Gamefish Club of California edged out Japan's Mauna Kea Fishing Club yesterday to win the 39th annual Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament. California club wins
billfish tourneyPajaro finished with 1,400 points to Mauna Kea's 1,392.
The difference came when Arlen Steiner caught a tag-and-release marlin yesterday on 50-pound test line that was worth 300 points and lifted Pajaro from fourth to first place.
French Look (France) was third with 1,200 points followed by the Gamefishing Club of Souther Australia (1,150) and the Port Moresby Gamefish Club of New Guinea (1.150).
Malibu Marlin Club won the ahi competition with 389 points.
The University of Hawaii women's volleyball team is favored to win the Pacific Division with Brigham Young, the Mountain Division favorite, selected to win the Western Athletic Conference crown. Wahine spikers picked
to win divisionIn a vote yesterday, the Cougars earned 13 of 16 first-place votes by the league's coaches to repeat as WAC champions. The Wahine received two votes and Colorado State one vote.
Hawaii garnered 13 first-place votes in the Pacific Division voting with San Diego State, Fresno State and Rice each receiving one vote. In the Mountain Division, BYU received 14 votes to Colorado State's two.
Hawaii opens the preseason on Aug. 23 against its alumnae. The regular season starts with Illinois State in the Aston Imua Wahine Challenge Aug. 29.
Doug Huff, who compiles the National Prep Football Poll, said St. Louis will probably be rated higher than ever this year. National prep pollster
will watch isle teamsBut, more importantly, he's finally coming here to see Hawaii's perennial prep powerhouse play.
Huff, in charge of the poll since 1987, has accepted an invitation from the St. Louis Alumni Association to attend the Crusaders' preseason game against Waianae at Aloha Stadium on Friday, Aug. 22.
The matchup is expected to draw unusually well for a preseason game because it is a rematch of last November's thrilling 7-0 Crusaders' victory in the Prep Bowl.
The National Prep Poll listed St. Louis at No. 9 nationally last season (third in the West Coast region) while USA Today had the Crusaders 14th.
This year's first poll will appear Aug. 25, three days after the Waianae game.
St. Louis head coach Cal Lee said besides the Crusaders and Seariders, Huff might be able to see Punahou play Kahuku and Kamehameha play Farrington in a doubleheader the next night at the stadium.
Huff, who is the sports editor of The Intelligencer in Wheeling, West Va., will be the first national prep football pollster to come to view local players in action.
St. Louis comes off an unbeaten (13-0) season in which the Crusaders won their 11th consecutive Prep Bowl title.
