By BILL O’REAR
By BILL O’REAR
Tribune-Herald sports editor
In a razor-close finish, the University of Hawaii at Hilo edged Grand Canyon by a stroke and three other schools by two shots to win the GolfWeek Division II Fall Golf Invitational on Tuesday in Sunriver, Ore.
Vulcan Corey Kozuma, a junior out of Iolani Schools on Oahu, drained a one-foot par putt to clinch the championship on the 18th hole of the 14-team NCAA Division II tournament.
“The final three holes were pretty intense,” UHH coach Earl Tamiya said. “Corey stepped up big time. He did really well in the tournament. It’s a great win for us. Our goal was a top-five finish, so winning is icing on the cake.”
The Vulcans needed Kozuma to par the par-4 18th hole to claim the team title.
“I was on the green in two shots, then two-putted to finish,” Kozuma said. “It was kind of nerve-racking, but I knew I had put myself in a good position. I just told myself to stick to my normal routine and not worry about anything until I finished.
“I had a one-foot putt to win it and knocked it down. It felt good. This win is definitely satisfying for the team. We’ve all been putting in the time and working hard to get better. The hard work paid off in this tournament.”
Kozuma said he didn’t realize where the Vulcans stood in the team scoring until Tamiya told him on the 16th hole.
“From there on, it was really exciting,” Kozuma said. “I just tried to relax and stay in my routine. I’m glad it worked out for us.”
The Vulcans finished with an 876 total, one stroke ahead of Grand Canyon and two better than Cal State Stanislaus, Western Washington and Chico State.
Tamiya said UHH struggled on the front nine but turned things around on the back nine.
“All of a sudden on the back nine, the birdies started to come,” the Vulcans coach said. “The boys really picked it up. This is a great win for us, but we know there’s still room for improvement. The boys are excited and looking forward to the rest of the tournaments.”
Kozuma, who fired a 72 on Tuesday, finished third individually with a 5-under 211 total. He had rounds of 70, 69 and 72 on what Tamiya called “a difficult” par 72 course.
Michael Lee of Colorado School of Mines captured individual medalist honors with an impressive 11-under 205. Lee had rounds of 68, 75 and 72. Grand Canyon’s Alec Dalhquist (70-73-67) was second at 210, followed by Kozuma in third.
Rounding out UHH scoring were Jaime Hall (77-71-74—222, T-18), Dalen Yamauchi (76-73-73—222, T-18) and Chris Shimomura (78-77-80—235, T-58).
“Jaime’s still struggling some, but we know he’ll come around,” Tamiya said. “He’s going to be a big part of our success this season.”
The Vulcans headed into the final round in second place with a 581 total, three shots behind tournament leader Cal State Stanislaus (578) and one ahead of third-place Chico State (582). But UHH turned it around Tuesday with a birdie rush on the back nine as well as Kozuma’s clutch play down the stretch that helped the Vuls pull out the title.
The Vulcans’ next matches will come during the Sonoma State Invitational, Oct. 14-16, at Santa Rosa Country Club in Northern California. The NCAA D-II tournament is hosted by Sonoma State University.
Volleyball
Cal Baptist University fought past UHH 27-25, 25-23, 25-22 in a Pacific West Conference women’s volleyball match on Tuesday night in Riverside, Calif.
The Lancers improved to 14-1 overall and 6-0 in the PacWest. The Vulcans fell to 4-10 and 4-4, respectively.
UHH, under coach Tino Reyes, finished its PacWest road trip with a 3-2 record.
“Our girls played wonderful tonight,” Reyes said. “It’s the best we’ve played on the road trip, but we just couldn’t turn over the points when we needed to.
“Cal Baptist is a good team and we played them pretty tough.”
Freshman Bria Morgan led UHH with 20 kills.
The Vulcans will return home and host their alumnae at 7 p.m. Saturday at UHH.
The Lady Vuls resume PacWest action at 7 p.m. Oct. 8, when they host Point Loma Nazarene and at 7 p.m. Oct. 10 when they welcome Cal Baptist.
At Riverside, Calif.
UHH 25 23 22
Cal Baptist 27 25 25