The 2013 Rainbow Wahine soccer team finished 8-8-1 overall to end a string of four straight losing seasons. UH won half of its matches away from the islands and finished with its first winning record on the road in a decade. The 'Bows, who finished fifth in the Big West, had six players earn all-conference honors highlighted by first-team selection Tiana Fujimoto. Fujimoto also became just the fourth player in program history to earn all-region honors. Crowds continued to flock to the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium as UH led the Big West and ranked 18th in the nation in average home attendance (1,123). The team also excelled in the classroom as UH made the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Team Academic Award list for the second straight season and six players were named to the Big West All-Academic Team.
The Rainbow Wahine finished ninth at the Big West Conference Championships. Senior Kevyn Murphy led the way for UH, finishing 57
overall, completing the 6k course in 25:19.3. The team's best finish on the year was second place at the Big Wave Invitational, which UH hosted at the Kane'ohe Klipper Golf Course. Murphy placed third overall, her third Top 10 finish in four career Big Wave meets. Murphy and six other Rainbow Wahine were selected to the Big West All-Academic team.
The Rainbow Warrior basketball team enjoyed its most successful season in a decade notching 20 wins for its highest win total since the 2003-04 campaign. They won their games with an exciting brand of basketball, averaging 80.0 points per game for the team's highest scoring average in more than 40 years. During Big West play, the team won four straight road games, a feat never accomplished before. Front court mates Christian Standhardinger and Isaac Fotu were the linchpins to the team's success and both were named to the all-Big West first team, marking the first time that two UH players earned the honor in the same year. Standhardinger concluded his career by becoming the 16th UH player—and just the fourth two-year player— to score 1,000 career points, while Fotu earned all-district honors to cap one of the best sophomore campaigns by a Rainbow Warrior.
The Rainbow Wahine basketball team made its second-straight Women's National Invitational Tournament appearance after posting a 17-14 overall record. Hawai'i finished the Big West in third place with a 10-6 record with Kamilah Jackson and Shawna-Lei Kuehu earning conference second team honors and Ashleigh Karaitiana being named the league's Sixth Player of the Year. Jackson became just the second player in Hawai'i history to amass over 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds finishing her stellar career with 1,548 points and 1,176 rebounds. Kuehu was also voted as the team's Ah Chew Goo Award winner as the player who attained "basketball excellence through dedication, determination and perseverance." Kuehu appeared in all 31 games with 29 starts averaging 10.1 points and 4.2 rebounds a game while leading the team with 23 blocked shots and 32 steals. Karaitiana appeared in all 31 games with nine starts and led UH with 39 3-pointers and finished second on the team averaging 10.4 points a game.
The men's swimming and diving team had an excellent season with a handful of outstanding individual performances along the way. Freshman diver Amund Gismervik capped an impressive first season with a selection to the NCAA All-America First Team, earning the honor after a third-place finish in the 10-meter platform at his first NCAA Championships. Swimmers Victor Goicoechea and Paulo de Paula also qualified for the NCAA championships with the Rainbow Warriors placing 28
th in the overall team standings. The 'Bows also had a wildly successful run at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championships where they placed second in the overall team standings. Gismervik was named Diver of the Year with Goicoechea earning Freshman of the Year honors after winning the 1650 freestyle race in an MPSF record time.
Mike Brown and
Anita Rossing were named Diving Co-Coaches of the Year with
Victor Wales selected as the Men's Swim Coach of the Year. Gismervik, along with Grant Uekawa, Eduardo Vaz Guimaraes, Ryan Makuta, Kacy Johnson, and Andy Wooldridge garnered MPSF all-academic honors as well.
Freestyle Swimmer Jasmine AlkhaldiWomen's Swimming and DivingThe Rainbow Wahine swimming and diving season was highlighted by a myriad of excellent performances. Sophomore Aimee Harrison was named MPSF Diver of the Year for the second time after winning the 1-meter and platform dives at the MPSF championships. Sophomore diver Lauren Hall won the 3-meter and placed third in the same event at the NCAA Zone E championships to qualify for her first NCAA championships. Jasmine Alkhaldi led the way for the Rainbow Wahine swimmers, breaking an MPSF meet record in winning the 100-meter freestyle event. She would go on to win the 200- and 50-meter freestyle races as well. In addition, 16 Rainbow Wahine swimmers and divers were named to the MPSF All-Academic Team, and
Mike Brown and
Anita Rossing were named MPSF Diving Co-Coaches of the Year.
SPRING SPORTS Baseball
All-Conference Pitcher Matt CooperThe Rainbow Warrior baseball team went 21-33 and finished ninth in the formidable Big West Conference. Pitcher Matt Cooper highlighted an impressive starting rotation, one that ranked among the best in the nation statistically. Cooper finished the season with the third best single-season ERA (1.60) in program history, garnering a selection to the NCAA's national player of the week list along the way. Scott Kuzminsky also treated the fans to some memorable performances, most notably his 14-strikeout outing, the most by a Hawai'i pitcher since 1980. Following the season, Cooper was selected to the all-Big West second team with Marc Flores and Kaeo Aliviado earning honorable mention honors. Cooper, Flores, and pitcher Scott Squier were selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
Big West Player of the Year Jonathan BrooklynMen's TennisThe Rainbow Warrior tennis team won the Big West Conference title in just its second season in the league. The 'Bows ran the table with a perfect 4-0 league record, advancing to the Big West Tournament championship match before falling to Cal Poly. Senior Jonathan Brooklyn was named the Big West's Player of the Year, the team's first major honor since joining the league. Nils Schuhmann, with partner
David Schuster, was named first team doubles and also earned a spot on the singles second team. Brooklyn also earned second-team doubles honors with teammate
Carter Lam, and
Chas Okamoto garnered a singles honorable mention nod.
All-Conference Freshman Cindy NguyenWomen's TennisThe Rainbow Wahine tennis team finished the 2014 season with a 11-9 overall record, finishing the year strong winning nine of their last 11 matches. Both losses were heartbreaking, 3-4 decisions that favored UC Irvine, one in the regular season and the other came in the semifinals of the Big West tournament. Freshman Cindy Nguyen earned all-Big West first team honors and became the first Rainbow Wahine to play in the NCAA Women's Singles Championship in Athens, Ga. as she earned the Big West's automatic bid after ending the regular season as the highest ranked player in the conference. Nguyen finished the regular season with a 22-5 overall record and a 17-3 dual match mark. She ended the season on a roll with an 11-match win streak before falling in the NCAA tournament to No. 11 Breaunna Addison from Texas. Junior Martina Kostalova earned BWC honorable mention honors in singles posting a 15-9 overall record and winning 10 of her last 11 matches. Doubles partners—senior Xenia Suworowa and sophomore Paulina Petriskova—were named the to the Big West Second Team going 8-6 overall.
All-Conference Attacker Chillida EsforzadoWater PoloThe Rainbow Wahine water polo team enjoyed another winning season, compiling a 19-10 overall record and a final ranking of No. 10 in the national poll. UH fell short of defending the 2013 Big West title it captured during its inaugural season in the league and finished third in both the regular season and conference tournament in 2014. However at season's end, an unprecedented eight players earned all-conference mention. Paula Chillida Esforzado tallied a team-high 52 goals and recorded seven hat tricks on the year to earn first-team honors, while Chloe Barr was tabbed Big West Freshman of the Year, the first player in program history to earn the honor. Chillida Esforzado and Barr were part of the most diverse water polo team in the nation with student-athletes representing seven different countries.
Men's Volleyball
All-American Middle Blocker Taylor AverillDespite a 15-12 overall record and 13-9 league mark, the Rainbow Warriors failed to qualify for the postseason for the second time under head coach
Charlie Wade. The season included five wins over teams ranked in the top four nationally, including two-match sweeps of No. 3 UCLA and MPSF champion and No. 2 BYU and a win over NCAA semifinalist Penn State. Middle blocker Taylor Averill earned first-team AVCA All-America honors, becoming the school's first All-American middle blocker since 2003. The junior from San Jose, Calif., was also named first-team all-MPSF after leading the nation in hitting percentage (.477) and ranked eighth in blocking (1.22 per set). Opposite Brook Sedore was a second-team all-MPSF pick and honorable mention All-American. The junior from Grande Praire, Alberta, Canada, led the team with a 3.70 kills per set average which ranked ninth in the MPSF. Sedore and outside hitter Sinisa Zarkovic received AVCA National Player of the Week honors during the season. Five players were named to the MPSF All-Academic Team.
All-Region First Baseman Leisha Li'ili'iSoftballThe Rainbow Wahine softball team tallied a 22-28 overall record and finished in seventh place in the Big West with a 7-14 conference record. Junior first baseman Leisha Li'ili'i was selected to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association's All-West Region second team and was a Big West first team selection. Li'ili'i started and batted clean-up in all 50 games for Hawai'i. She led UH with a career-high .401 batting average, 15 home runs, .796 slugging percentage, and .523 on-base percentage. Li'ili'i also had team-highs with 55 hits, 39 RBI, and 34 walks to just 14 strike outs and she reached safely in 46 of UH's 50 games—including the last 26 straight. Rookie shortstop Sarina Jaramillo was selected to both the BWC second team and to the all-freshman squad hitting .264 (32-for-121) overall. Overall, Jaramillo scored 15 runs and hit three doubles, a triple, three home runs and 17 RBI. Senior Jazmine Zamora earned BWC honorable mention honors after hitting .295 overall with four doubles, a triple, four home runs and 11 RBI.
Men's Golf
All-Conference Senior Nainoa CalipThe Rainbow Warriors captured their first collegiate team title in nearly a decade after winning the Aloha @ O'ahu Tournament at the Turtle Bay Resort. Junior Ryan Kuroiwa took medalist honors after firing 11-under and became the first UH golfer to win an event since 2011. At the Big West Championships, the Rainbow Warriors finished sixth while senior Nainoa Calip finished in a three-way tie for second place at 3-under. Calip capped his career by receiving all-Big West honorable mention honors after a stellar spring season in which he posted four Top 20 finishes and two runner-ups.
All-Conference Freshman Izzy LeungWomen's GolfThe Rainbow Wahine played much of the season with four freshmen and one sophomore in the lineup led by freshman phenom Izzy Leung. The Shatin, Hong Kong native was the team leader in all nine tournaments and led the squad with a 75.7 scoring average en route to all-Big West honorable mention honors. Leung posted seven Top 25 finishes including top six in each of her first three collegiate tournaments. UH nearly captured its first team title in 20 years after but fell one stroke short at the Rainbow Wahine Invitational which it hosted at the Leilehua Golf Course. The Rainbow Wahine capped the season with an eighth place finish at the Big West Championships.
All-Americans Brittany Tiegs (L) and Karissa Cook (R)Sand VolleyballIn just its third season of existence, the Rainbow Wahine sand volleyball team produced a memorable 2014 campaign. UH started the year with a win over defending national championship Long Beach State during the opening weekend and ended the season in Gulf Shores, Alabama as one of just six teams invited to the AVCA Sand Volleyball National Championship. In its first-ever team appearance in the event, UH upset top-ranked USC before eventually bowing out in the national semifinals versus Florida State. UH, ranked No. 3 nationally for the majority of the season, finished with a 20-4 overall record. The top tandem of Karissa Cook and Brittany Tiegs amassed a 38-6 record on the year, captured three pairs tournaments and advanced to finals of the AVCA Pairs National Championship. Both were named All-Americans, as were the duo of Katie Spieler and Nikki Taylor who advanced to the quarterfinals of the AVCA Nationals.
NCAA Qualifier Alex Porlier LangoisTrack & FieldThrower Alex Porlier Langlois qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary Round in both the shot put and discus. She captured the silver medal in the shot put at the Big West Championships, where multi-event athlete Kaleigh Morrison won gold in the heptathlon, marking UH's second straight gold medal in the event. Morrison capped an outstanding conference meet, totaling 20.5 team points with four top six finishes as the Rainbow Wahine placed ninth in the team standings. During the indoor season, freshman Rachel Toliver placed fourth in the triple jump at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships, where UH finished 16
th overall.
Sailing
Women's sailing finished 15th at the ICSA NationalsThe UH women's sailing team qualified for the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) Nationals for the 15th time in the last 17 years, competing in Annapolis, Md. The Rainbow Wahine advanced to the final round of the nationals before finishing in 15
th place. On the coed front, the Rainbows captured two regattas—the season-opening Stoney Burke Intersectional and the Peter Wenner Rainbow Invite. UH hosted the PCCSC DInghy Championship for the first time since 2010 and finished runner-up to qualify for the ICSA Coed Nationals for the second year in a row and the 14
th time in program history. Competing in St. Mary's City, Md., the coed team advanced to the final round of the nationals before finishing in 13th.
The Hawai'i cheer squad placed in first place at the 2014 Aloha Spirit International in March in Los Angeles, Calif. The Rainbow Warriors won the collegiate, large co-ed division.
