The national champion Hawai'i Pacific softball team finished No. 1 in the final NFCA Division II Top 25 poll that was released Thursday.

The Sea Warriors, who compiled a 50-8 record, received all 16 first-place votes by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.

The Sea Warriors won the NCAA Division II national championship this past week after going 4-0 in the tournament at St. Joseph, Mo.

HPU rallied to beat No. 2 Valdosta (Ga.) State, 4-3, in the final, setting a school record with its 50th win.

TENNIS

VLCKOVA, JIA, LI ALL-AMERICANS

Hawai'i Pacific's Zora Vlckova and Brigham Young-Hawai'i's Yuan Jia and Elwen Li earned a place on the Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-America teams, announced yesterday for NCAA Division II. Singles players in the Top 20 in the final ITA ranking, and Top 10 in doubles, qualified.

Jia was No. 1 in the final singles ranking, with Li fourth and Vlckova eighth. Jia and Li were ranked second in doubles.

JOBE, DOMINGO IN QUALIFIER SEMIFINALS

Hawai'i's Ikaika Jobe and Kelly Domingo reached the semifinals of the U.S. Open National Playoffs Hawai'i Pacific Sectional Qualifying with wins yesterday at Patsy T. Mink CORP Tennis Complex.

Jobe, a Punahou graduate and current University of Hawai'i law student, defeated Muka Godinet, 6-2, 6-3, in a quarterfinal. Godinet played Jr. Davis Cup for American Samoa.

Jobe will play Eric Hechtman, from Florida, in the first semifinal today at 9 a.m. Erik Nelson-Kortland takes on Alex Wagner at 10:30 a.m.

Domingo defeated Elim Yeoh, 6-1, 6-0, and faces Amy Alcini at noon. Alcini, who is ranked No. 21 in the world in 40 singles, beat Honolulu's Nicole Carr, 6-0, 6-1. Maureen Diaz plays Hailiee Gopinath in the other semi, also at noon.

Tomorrow's singles champions, and the champions from 15 other sectionals, advance to the U.S. Open National Playoffs. Those winners get a wild card into the U.S. Open qualifying draw.

UH MEN FINISH 35TH IN FINAL POLL

The University of Hawai'i men's tennis team finished 35th in the final Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll, its highest ranking ever. With that finish, UH gained an invitation to the qualifying rounds of the 2011 ITA National Team Indoor Championships for the second straight season.

The ITA held its third annual Men's Kick-Off Weekend Draft Thursday as teams bid for which route they will take to the 2011 Indoor Championships. Teams that finished the season ranked in the top 60 qualify for the Kick-Off Weekend, which will be Jan. 29 to 30 at 15 sites.

UH gained a bid to the Texas regional, where it will join the host Longhorns, Rice and Alabama. The fourth-seeded Rainbows will face top-seeded Texas on Jan. 29, before taking on either Rice or Alabama. UH played at the UCLA regional in their first-ever appearance this past season, falling to the Bruins, before defeating South Florida in a consolation match.

The 15 schools that win both matches advance to the main draw of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, hosted by Washington, Feb. 18 to 21.

The Rainbows elevated to their lofty ranking after winning both the Western Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament titles and making their third straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

GOLF

CHING, TOREROS COMPLETE SEASON

Alex Ching's sophomore golf season ended suddenly yesterday morning when his 25th-ranked University of San Diego team lost a playoff to second-ranked Stanford at the NCAA Men's Golf Championship in Ooltewah, Tenn.

The Toreros finished the regulation 54 holes Thursday in a three-way tie for eighth. The top eight teams advance to match play to compete for the national title. Yesterday morning, the Cardinal completed two playoff holes at 3-under par to beat USD and Arizona State and advance.

Ching, a Punahou graduate, finished in second in the individual competition Thursday at 69-66-73—208. He was 13th as a freshman, when his team also finished 13th. The Toreros won five tournaments this year.

WATER POLO

GENEE, EGGENS GET ACADEMIC HONORS

Hawai'i water polo players Dagmar Genee and Monika Eggens were named to the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation all-academic team.

The MPSF honored 52 student-athletes. Criteria included a 3.0 grade point average or better, at least a sophomore academically, have completed one full academic year and must have played in more than half the team's matches.

Eggens, a sophomore, was named first team all-MPSF and to the MPSF all-tournament team. She led the conference in scoring and was named MPSF player of the week twice this season.

Genee, a senior, started all 26 matches and led the team on defense with 48 steals. She also added 20 goals and led the offense with 26 assists.

FISHING

ADRIC, LAI WIN SPEARFISHING EVENT

The team of Hanalei Adric and Calvin Lai won the fifth annual Gene Higa Memorial Spearfishing Tournament May 22 at Puuiki Beach Pavilion in Waialua.

The team caught the largest fish with a 66.5-pound ulua. They also speared a 19-pound kahala for a total weight of 85.5 pounds.

Sixty-two teams competed in the event sponsored by Hawaii Skin Diver Magazine and Primo Beer.