Hamanaka earns All-American award

Bits ands pieces from the local ports scene.

Hamanaka named honorable-mention All-American: Traci Hamanaka, a former Burroughs High standout and sophomore for the Wellesley College women's volleyball team, has been named an American Volleyball Coaches Assn. Division III honorable-mention All-American.

The awards were presented Nov. 17 at the NCAA Division III Women's National Championship banquet in St. Louis.

The honor came at the conclusion of a fine season for Hamanaka, a defensive specialist/libero. She was also named to the All-New England Region Team along with teammates Isabel Custodio and Sydney Carfagno, who played at Campbell Hall

Hamanaka earned her first All-Region honor after leading Wellesley's defense this season. The sophomore racked up 433 digs, raising her digs-per-set average from 3.94 to 4.86 against regionally-ranked opponents. Hamanaka also tallied 25 service aces to finish fourth on the team.

Wellesley ended the season with a 23-9 overall record, dropping a 3-2 contest to Springfield in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference Championship. The team reached the finals with a 3-0 win over Babson in the quarterfinals and a 3-1 victory over Coast Guard in the semifinals.

Hamanaka had 28 digs in the final against Springfield.

Red Machine captures tournament championship: The Burbank Red Machine, a girls' club soccer team comprised of players from Burbank, Glendale, Sunland and neighboring cities, competed in the Tom Young Turkey Shoot last weekend in Anaheim and won the Girls-8-and-Under division. The team went 2-0-2 in four tournament matches.

The Burbank squad includes: Lauren Baily, Sydney Esquival, Elizabeth Joan Fogassa, Madison Hodges, Isabella Jaime, Katherine Lopez, Viviana Medina, Alyssa Mendoza, Clarisa Robles, Sammantha Valencia, Alexandra Warshaw and Zoe Zeron. The team's head coach is Ruben Mendoza and the assistant coach is Sergio Medina.