During the final 18 days of 2018, the Pacific West Conference office is counting down 18 memorable moments across the conference in the calendar year. This is the eleventh installment in the Best 18 of 2018 series, featuring Hawai`i Hilo men's tennis' win at the NCAA West Regional semifinals against Point Loma. For other "moments", go to www.thepacwest.com. By Jared Pine, PWC Sports Communications Director.
 
HILO, Hawai`i – It took only three years for Hawai`i Hilo men's tennis head coach Tina McDermott to turn the program into a national contender after taking over a team that hadn't beaten any NCAA Division II team the previous year.
 
Hawai`i Hilo proved that it was a changed team right at the start of the 2018 season, winning three matches in four days against nationally-ranked opponents, including back-to-back wins against rival Hawai`i Pacific, which had dominated the rivalry up to that point.
 
The Vulcans went on to finish the regular season undefeated against NCAA Division II teams before finishing runner-up at the PacWest Championships to earn a spot in the NCAA West Regional as host against Point Loma.
 
Playing at the Holua Tennis Center on April 30, Hawai`i Hilo punched its ticket to the national tournament with a 5-3 win over Point Loma in a match that took over four hours.
 
Point Loma got into good position to pull off the upset, playing three time zones away from home, by taking two of the three doubles matches. Vaclav Slezak and Alessandro Giuliato continued to dominate at No. 1 doubles for the Vulcans with an 8-2 win, but the Sea Lions won the other two doubles sets. Yuka Okamoto and Thomas Dafcik won an exciting set at No. 2 doubles, taking it in a tiebreaker after both teams had earned set points, 8-7(8).
 
Giuliato was named the PacWest Freshman of the Year, and he showed why in the West Regional, winning 6-0, 6-1 at No. 2 singles to even the overall score at 2-2. The Vulcans earned two more straight-set victories to take a 4-2 lead as Alex Fillat Perez and Arturo Dell'eva got two quick wins.
 
Hawai`i Hilo appeared to be well on its way to a routine victory but closing the door on Point Loma's season did not turn out to be so easy. Slezak and Chun En Wu were two of the best singles players in the PacWest in 2018 and both had won their first set when UHH had earned the 4-2 lead.
 
Dafcik and Okamoto were the ones who were down a set, getting a slow start to singles after coming off an emotional victory in doubles. Both players regrouped in the second set as both Dafcik and Okamoto won their second set 6-3. Meanwhile, Tim Soderman was locked in a tight second set after winning the first set 6-2, giving the Sea Lions a path to victory against the No. 15 team in the nation.
 
Dafcik was a first-team All-PacWest selection, and he had arrested momentum in the No. 1 singles match after winning the second set, going on to win the next six games for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-0 victory over the No. 31 player in the nation. At No. 6 singles, Soderman came close to finishing the match, but Gregory Zukeran won the second set tiebreaker, 7-2, to keep the Sea Lions from tying the match at 4-4.
 
Meanwhile, the pressure fell on Chun En Wu, who was looking to recover at No. 3 singles after losing the second set. He took a break lead in the deciding set against Okamoto, who wasn't available when the two teams met in the Vulcans' regular-season finale. Chun En Wu kept his lead in the deciding set and went on to win it for a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory, clinching the win for the Vulcans.
 
"I am so proud of this team, their grit and their fight," McDermott said after the match. "This is a huge accomplishment for us. It is extremely exciting. Our goal from the beginning of the year was to get to nationals."
 
Hawai`i Hilo finished the season with 17 wins, an undefeated regular season against NCAA Division II teams, a runner-up finish in the PacWest and a trip to the NCAA Division II national tournament.