• Houston's Australian punter Dane Roy will stay in Hawaii after the Cougars' bowl game in Honolulu. He will celebrate Christmas with his parents and girlfriend, who will visit from Australia. Photo: Elizabeth Conley, Staff / © 2016 Houston Chronicle
Photo: Elizabeth Conley, Staff
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Houston's Australian punter Dane Roy will stay in Hawaii after the Cougars' bowl game in Honolulu. He will celebrate Christmas with his parents and girlfriend, who will visit from Australia.
Houston's Australian punter Dane Roy will stay in Hawaii after the Cougars' bowl game in Honolulu. He will celebrate Christmas with his parents and girlfriend, who will visit from Australia.
Photo: Elizabeth Conley, Staff
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New Australian punter Dane Roy, a former ice cream salesman, is classified as a non-recruited walk-on at UH.

New Australian punter Dane Roy, a former ice cream salesman, is classified as a non-recruited walk-on at UH.

Photo: Joseph Duarte / Houston Chronicle
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HONOLULU - Punter Dane Roy is halfway home. Roy, a sophomore from Australia, has been given permission from coach Major Applewhite to not accompany the rest of the team back to Houston after Sunday's game.

Instead Roy will remain in Hawaii a few extra days with his family and girlfriend, who are making the roughly 10-hour flight from Sydney.

"We get to spend Christmas together in Hawaii," Roy said. "Otherwise it would have taken 3 to 4 days off from my total time off traveling."

Like many of his teammates, Roy is making his first trip to Hawaii. Among tropical destinations, he's been to Fiji three times.

Tight ends coach James Casey will also remain in Hawaii and plans to take his family to Maui.