Former University of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine assistants Da Houl and Serenda Valdez will return to the coaching staff of new coach Dana Takahara-Dias, the school announced today.

Also named to the staff is Sherice Ajifu, who will be the director of operations.
Houl, who spent 12 seasons under former Rainbow Wahine head coach Vince Coach, will be the associate head coach. Valdez, who also spent 12 years under Goo, will be an assistant coach.
“I am very pleased to announce the addition of two outstanding coaches to the Rainbow Wahine program,” Takahara-Dias said in a press statement. “Da and Serenda have a tremendous amount of experience and passion working at UH and we are all excited to revitalize the program.”
Both Houl and Valdez joined the UH coaching staff in 1992 and were instrumental parts in helping the Rainbow Wahine reach three NCAA Tournaments and four WNIT appearances.
Houl began her first stint at UH as a part-time assistant in 1992 and was promoted to full-time status in 1995. Houl played for the Rainbow Wahine from 1984-87, playing three years with Takahara-Dias.
For the past five years, Houl was an assistant at Mid-Pacific Institute, and has also coached at Brea Olinda High School and Katella High School in California.
Valdez came to UH as a graduate assistant in 1992 and has been at UH ever since. After coaching with Goo, Valdez has served as the Assistant Director of Student Affairs/Athletics for the past five years.
Valdez played at Cal-Poly Pomona from 1987-1991, where she was an all-conference performer. Valdez began her coaching career at Mount San Antonio Community College in Walnut, Calif., prior to coming to UH.
Ajifu, a recent graduate from the University of the Pacific, worked for the Mayor Mufi Hannemann Basketball Jamboree and had been a summer girls basketball coach at Mid-Pacific Institute.