At least two candidates with University of Hawai'i ties, Gavin Petersen and Dana Takahara-Dias, are expected to be among the finalists interviewed for the vacant Rainbow Wahine basketball head coaching job.

Both applied for the position and have had phone interviews with the selection committee as have University of Colorado assistant Patrick Harrington and former UC Riverside coach Jennifer Young.

In-person finalist interviews with the five-member search committee could begin as soon as this week. A committee recommendation will go to athletic director Jim Donovan, who will choose the successor to Jim Bolla.

Athletic department officials have declined comment or not returned calls.

Bolla, who coached UH for five seasons, was terminated for what UH has said was with cause on April 6. He filed suit April 12 seeking damages and reinstatement.

Petersen, 32, a University High graduate, is women's basketball associate head coach at the University of Idaho. He was an assistant at UH from 2002-04 and an assistant and associate head coach at Idaho State for four years under Jon Newlee, whom he followed to Moscow. Newlee is a former UH assistant, who Petersen succeeded in Manoa in 2002.

Takahara-Dias, a guard on the 1985-88 Rainbow Wahine teams, is currently the City and County of Honolulu's director of the department of customer service. She has been an assistant coach and operations director for the Rainbow Wahine.

Takahara-Dias, 43, was head basketball coach and athletic director at Moanalua High, where she led Na Menehune to five consecutive state tournaments. More recently she coached the all-star squad Team Aloha in Mainland tournaments.

Harrington, 45, has a wide variety of experience as an assistant coach in both the women's and men's programs. He has been an assistant coach with the women at Colorado for two seasons. Previously he had been an assistant on the women's staff at Oregon State and the men's staffs at New Orleans,Texas-Pan American and Southern Utah. He was the men's head coach at Newberry College in Brookline, Mass.

Young, 44, a former assistant at Oregon State, spent seven seasons as head coach at UC-Riverside.