SAN DIEGO, Calif.--For the second day in a row, the Hawai`i Hilo Vulcan men's tennis team won all the close matches, providing a lopsided tallu for a match that was much closer than the score would indicate.

The Vulcans topped Arizona Christian 8-1 at the Barnes Center in San Diego, one day after defeating Point Loma (7-2) by winning five very tight matches. Today, UHH swept singles play but four of the six matches went to a third and final set.

With the win, the No. 6 regionally ranked Vulcans improved to 11-11 on the season. Arizona Christian, an NAIA school in the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC), is now also 11-11. The Firestorm is ranked No. 7 in the NAIA national rankings.

The Vulcans rolled through two of the three doubles matches against the Firestorm, with Vaclav Slezak and Stefan Coney winning on court one (8-2), Bruno Figlia and Alex Fillat Perez moving to 16-4 on the season on court two (8-3). Daniel Tada and Gregory Zukeran fell on court three (8-3).

No. 1 singles player Slezak, ranked fifth in the west region, won easily (6-2, 6-0) to improve to 17-4 on the year on court one, and Dillon Lam won a tougher match, but in straight sets (6-4, 6-3). That's when things got really interesting.

Coney took the first set and eventually won on court four, 6-3 4-6, 6-0 over Scott Wheeler. But three of his teammates lost the first set and had to battle back to win the match.

Fillat Perez played a match that was all over the map before winning, 5-7, 6-0, 7-6 (7-4) over Enzo Douillac. Zukeran fell in a first set tie-breaker at No. 3 before dominating Gregoire Vincent, 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 6-2. Lastly, Figlia improved to 15-5 in singles play with a win on court five over Marcelo Balderrama, 5-7, 6-3, 10-2, with the final set played in the pro set format because of time constraints.

"Playing so many matches has been tough on us physically, but I think it has also prepared us for matches like we played today and against Point Loma," said head coach Tina McDermott. "When you have this kind of repetition, you know how to battle back in the close matches."

The Vulcans have played eight matches in the last 11 days, spanning from northern California to southern California.

UH Hilo will now return home to rest, practice and prep for the Pacific West Conference Championships, to be held April 19-22 in Surprise, Arizona.

UH HILO 8, ARIZONA CHRISTIAN 1
Singles
1. Vaclav Slezak (UHH) def. Alberto Lapiedra (ACU), 6-2, 6-0.
2. Alex Fillat Perez (UHH) def. Enzo Douillac (ACU), 5-7, 6-0, 7-6 (7-4).
3. Gregory Zukeran (UHH) def. Gregoire Vincent (ACU), 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 6-2.
4. Stefan Coney (UHH) def. Scott Wheeler (ACU), 6-3, 4-6, 6-0.
5. Bruno Figlia (UHH) def. Marcelo Balderrama (ACU), 5-7, 6-3, 10-2
6. Dillon Lam (UHH) def. Seth Moore (ACU), 6-4, 6-3.
Doubles
1. Slezak/Coney (UHH) def. Moore/Lapiedra (ACU), 8-2.
2. Fillat Perez/Figlia (UHH) def. Douillac/Ezequiel Suarez (ACU), 8-3.
3. Wheeler/Luka Stanivukovic (ACU) def. Daniel Tada/Zukeran (UHH), 8-3.