Seventh of a nine-part series
With the rapidly approaching start of the 2021-22 academic year, GoSwords.com will look back at the events of the unusual spring 2021 year in which all 10 Chaminade University athletic teams were in competition due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "A Look Back, Moving Forward" series will feature all 10 programs over the next nine days, recapping the spring and a look ahead to what the '21-22 term has in store.
A Look Back:
With the pandemic still in the middle of its second wave in the islands, no one knew quite what to expect in late January when men's and women's basketball was the first major Pacific West Conference sport to get underway. Competition was reduced to just the Hawai'i Pod against the same opponent played on consecutive days with no fans in attendance which took some getting used to.
The season didn't get off on the right foot when the 'Swords' openers at Hawai'i Pacific University on Jan. 23 and 24 were postponed for contact tracing purposes, making their Jan. 30 and 31 dates against the University of Hawai'i Hilo their new debut.
Despite having a practically brand-new team which lost 78 percent of its scoring from the previous year, not having the luxury of playing their neighbors down the road in the University of Hawai'i like HPU and UH Hilo did, and having just over three weeks of practice together, Chaminade rolled in its 97-76 win in its opener over the Vulcans.
Winning three of their first four games was promising sign but eventually the odds seemed to catch up with them. A five-game losing streak followed although the 'Swords would close the season with wins in two of their final three games including an upset of UH Hilo which was nationally ranked entering the season finale. But it wasn't enough for Chaminade which finished 5-7, its first losing season in five years.
On the plus side, redshirt sophomores
Isaac Amaral-Artharee (Portland, Ore./Central Catholic) and
Kevin Kremer (Chico, Calif./University of Utah/Pleasant Valley HS) paced the 'Swords in the scoring ledger at 14.3 and 12.9 points per game, respectively, and earned All-PacWest Hawai'i Pod kudos.
Jessiya Villa (Martinsburg, W. Va./University of Hawai'i/Kahuku, Hawai'i, HS) flashed loads of potential as the No. 3 scorer after transferring in from Hawai'i.
Moving Forward:
With the spring 2021 behind them, the 'Swords are poised to return to their normal status as one of the PacWest contenders. Amaral-Artharee, Kremer and Villa return as does
Sawyer Storms (Idaho Falls, Idaho/College of Southern Idaho/Idaho Falls HS) and
DeRay Seamster (Portland, Ore./Central Catholic), representing five of the team's six top scorers returning.
The 'Swords bolstered their lineup to what head coach
Eric Bovaird is calling one of his best recruiting classes in his 10 years here. They include four-year transfers Joseph Smoyer (Columbia University), a 6-foot-11 center, Zach McIntire (Mercyhurst University) and Paris Taylor (Wisconsin Green Bay), the latter two who are athletic guards while getting Tredyn Christensen, a junior college transfer from Snow College in Utah.
The Silverswords are also back in the familiar confines of the Lahaina Civic Center for the Maui Jim Maui Invitational in November where they will open with the University of Oregon.
The remainder of the 2021-22 schedule, which returns to a full slate of PacWest foes in California, will be unveiled at a future date.
Tomorrow (Aug. 19): Women's tennis
