Geo. Mason Volleyball Coach Drowns!
Diane Williams
UV was so dear to me. There will be a huge hole in my heart for the rest
of my life.
I will let you all know what the school is doing. His mother, Lourdes
Aureola, lives in El Paso, TX.
Diane
Josh Stephens
In my years among the teams of the EIVA, George Mason was very much a
rival. But as I'm sure Diane will agree, the volleyball world out there
is very small, and, rivalries aside, UV's efforts to keep the team
together were huge for all of us in the league. I never knew UV, but
his presence on the opposing sideline added something special to the
match. It's not often that a world class athlete hangs out among the
college ranks, and I really expceted that if the administration was
willing to give him time, he would have brough GMU back to its old
glory. I hope that, in time, the team will be able to do so in his
absence, and I wish them all the best.
-Josh
WilsonAVP
Geo. Mason Volleyball Coach Drowns
HONOLULU (AP) - The men's volleyball coach for George Mason University drowned
Thursday in rough surf off the U.S. Marine base in Kaneohe.
University of Hawaii officials said 32-year-old Uvaldo Acosta was swimming with
a companion when he began struggling at about 1 p.m. His team also was at the
beach.
Acosta's unidentified companion was rescued by lifeguards and revived, but they
could not immediately locate Acosta. A helicopter was called in and his body
was pulled from the ocean at about 3 p.m., said UH spokesman Derek Inouchi.
George Mason played Hawaii on Wednesday night and was scheduled to play again
Friday night. That match has been canceled.
AP-NY-02-12-98 2147EST
Diane Wms
I believe Kate Mehl, the team's trainer, was the woman rescued. Paul Koncir,
one of the players, was also out swimming. The rest of the team was on the
beach.
Diane
Diane Williams
"Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind." --Emerson
Olympic Beach Volleyball photos at http://volleyball.org/ladydi/index.html
Diane Wms
Thanks Josh.
If anyone would like to send condolences to UV's family and GMU friends, I will
pass them on.
Diane Williams
Teron Uy
I never met him and I only really knew of him when Neville lent me his
copy of the 90 Goodwill Games. I was just watching some of it and it
feels different now watching it.
Its good to see how the volleyball community comes together in these
times.
"T"
WilsonAVP wrote in message
<19980213032...@ladder03.news.aol.com>...
Wayne
In article <19980213032...@ladder03.news.aol.com>,
wils...@aol.com says...
> Geo. Mason Volleyball Coach Drowns
>
> HONOLULU (AP) - The men's volleyball coach for George Mason University drowned
> Thursday in rough surf off the U.S. Marine base in Kaneohe.
>
> University of Hawaii officials said 32-year-old Uvaldo Acosta was swimming with
> a companion when he began struggling at about 1 p.m. His team also was at the
> beach.
>
> Acosta's unidentified companion was rescued by lifeguards and revived, but they
> could not immediately locate Acosta. A helicopter was called in and his body
> was pulled from the ocean at about 3 p.m., said UH spokesman Derek Inouchi.
>
> George Mason played Hawaii on Wednesday night and was scheduled to play again
> Friday night. That match has been canceled.
>
> AP-NY-02-12-98 2147EST
>
The Honolulu Star-Bulletin's coverage of the incident is at:
Rick Capone
WilsonAVP wrote:
>
> Geo. Mason Volleyball Coach Drowns
.... I never had the chance to meet Uvaldo Acosta personally,
but I have read and heard a lot about him and what he has
done for the sport of volleyball. The sport has lost a great
person. Hopefully, the things he has started at George Mason,
and the things that he has done in his life will live on.
Rick
--
Rick Capone
Durham, NC
raca...@ix.netcom.com
Go Blue Devils! Duke & Central Connecticut State
Diane Wms
>>I believe Kate Mehl, the team's trainer, was the woman rescued. Paul Koncir,
one of the players, was also out swimming. The rest of the team was on the
beach.<<
It wasn't Kate; it was Leslie. The Mason players will be back in Virginia on
Sat. Feb. 14. The Friday match vs. Hawaii was cancelled.
Woozie
>
>The Honolulu Star-Bulletin's coverage of the incident is at:
>
>http://starbulletin.com/today/news/story2.html
The Honolulu Advertiser's story (2/13/98) by Walter Wright is as
follows:
A college volleyball coach from Virginia drowned in tricky surf
yesterday during a team outing at the Marine Corps base in Kaneohe.
The George Mason University players watched and waited on North Beach
as helicopters and divers searched for two hours before finding the
body of Uvaldo Acosta.
"It was a day off," George Mason team captain Chris Prince said, "and
we came out to relax and enjoy Hawaii's weather. But things didn't
work out that way."
The night before, Acosta had coached the Patriots in a four-game loss
to the University of Hawaii men's volleyball team.
Tonight's second match with UH was canceled. The George Mason team
will fly ome to Fairfax, Va., this afternoon.
Acosta, 32, was in his second year as the Patriots' head coach. The
native of El Paso, Texas, had been a three-time All-America player for
George Mason. He was single.
The community relations officer at the base, Chuck Little, said surf
there was 4 to 6 fee. Little said the waves did not present "a real
bad surf situation, but the currents can be very treacherous --
unpredictable and unforgiving."
City Ocean Safety Capt. Jim Howe, whose city lifeguards watch beaches
elsewhere along Oahu's shores, said moderate surf such as that at
North Beach yesterday is especially dangerous, partly because it isn't
big enough to scare amateurs away.
Team members were enjoying the surf when civilian lifeguards responded
to a woman in distress offshore about 1 p.m. and learned that Acosta
had been swept under a wave nearby. The woman was carried to safety.
Meanwhile, Honolulu and federal firefighters, divers, base lifeguards
and Marine and Coast Guard helicopters searched for Acosta.
Team members huddled around a lifeguard station, "upset, more in a
state of shock," as the search continued, Marine Corps Master Sgt. Ron
Appling said.
The woman told lifeguards the other swimmer "had gone under and may
have been swept out," Appling said.
George Mason University spokesman Bill Kamenjar said the woman was a
companion of Acosta's.
The Honolulu Fire Department's Air One helicopter crew found Acosta's
body just outside the surf break 500 yards [other sources have quoted
200 yards] offshore about 3 p.m., Honolulu Fire Capt. Francis Puana
said.
Heather Eades, 39, wife of a man stationed on base, who watched the
rescue attempt for two hours from a cliff above the beach, said
warning flags were posted for surf conditions requiring swim fins.
Kamenjar called Acosta "one of the most heralded volleyball players in
George Mason history, who was in just his second year as head coach,
and who will be missed not only by us but by anyone who knows anything
about the game."
George Mason Athletic Director Thomas O'Connor said the news brought
"shock and sadness for everyone at the university. He was a respected
member of our family and he will be deeply missed."
The team returned to its Waikiki hotel last night and was scheduled to
fly from Honolulu to Washington, D.C., this afternoon.
Elsewhere, Howe said, beaches were closed on the North Shore yesterday
before surf reached 22 feet, crossing Ke Waena Road near Sunset Beach
at one point. Surf stood to reach 25 feet at high tide early this
morning, he said.
Meanwhile, large waves that had been anticipated along the Kona and
South Kohala coast of the Big Island did not materialize yesterday.
Civil defense officials, concerned that unusually [large] swells as
high as 15 feet would hit the low-lying resort area, had made
tentative plans to close roadways and other areas.
\\/oozie
<Go Bows!>
University of Hawai`i at Manoa
Home of the Rainbows & Rainbow Wahine
Like No Other Place in the World
Site of the 1998 NCAA Div. I Men's Volleyball Championships