Cougars rally back to top Vulcans in title match

SURPRISE, Ariz.—A day that began with great hope ended with great disappointment for the University of Hawai`i Hilo men's tennis team.

The Vulcans took a 2-1 lead over Azusa Pacific in the Pacific West Conference Championship after doubles, but the Cougars rallied back with four consecutive singles wins to capture the title with a 5-2 victory.

It was UH Hilo's first-ever trip to the championship match, and it was Azusa Pacific's first title after finishing as the runner-up the past five years. Azusa Pacific improved to 25-2 on the season, while the Vulcans are now 16-2.

Both the Vulcans and Cougars, currently ranked No. 1 and 2 respectively in the NCAA west region, will likely both host a regional match the first week of May. The announcement will be made on Tuesday (April 24) on the NCAA Selection Show.

UH Hilo struck first blood with an 8-5 victory at No. 3 doubles, with Gregory Zukeran and Chun En Wu topping the Cougar team of Jesse Haas and Ryan Nuno. The Cougars evened things up on court one (8-4), when Oliver Frank and Jakob Schnaitter topped Vaclav Slezak and Alessandro Guiliato.

That left everyone to gather around court two, where the Cougars' Christian Schmid and Tony Pejic were battling Alex Fillat Perez and Bruno Figlia. The two duos traded one-game leads that eventually led to a seven-point tiebreaker.

There, the Cougars took a commanding 5-1 lead, only to see the Vulcan crew battle back. Still, APU had match points at 6-4 with the serve but couldn't close. The Vulcans scored four straight points, twice breaking APU scoring the other two on Figlia's serve to win the tie-breaker, 8-6.

That gave the Vulcans the 2-1 lead and the momentum, but the Cougars would soon flip the script.

APU would tie the game on court four first, Ronald Kang defeating Fillat Perez. Frank, ranked No. 3 in the country, outlasted Slezak in terrific action on court one, 6-3, 6-4, giving the Cougs a 3-2 team lead. On court six, Alan Leahy defeated Zukeran (6-2, 6-4), leaving everyone to rush to court two, where Schmid and Alessandro were locked in a battle.

Schmid, who lost to Alessandro the last time that they played, revenged that loss with a 6-4, 7-5 victory, sending the Cougar team sprinting to the court to mob the German.
The other two matches on courts three and five, were in the third set but will go down as unfinished.

The Vulcans will now return to Hilo, practicing and waiting for the announcement from the NCAA on Tuesday.
 
Azusa Pacific 5, Hawai`i Hilo 2
Saturday, April 21, 2018, Surprise Tennis and Racquet Center

Singles

1. #3 Oliver Frank (APU) def. #28 Vaclav Slezak (UHH), 6-3, 6-4.  
2. # 36 Christian Schmid (APU) def. #55 Alessandro Giuliato (UHH), 6-4, 7-5.
3. Chun En Wu (UHH) vs. #43 Jakob Schnaitter (APU) 1-6, 6-3, 2-3 (unfinished).
4. Ronald Kang (APU) def. Alex Fillat Perez (UHH), 6-0, 6-4.
5. Arturo Dell`eva (UHH) vs. Ryan Nuno (APU), 6-4, 4-6, 1-2 (unfinished).
6. Allan Leahy (APU) def. Gregory Zukran (UHH), 6-2, 6-4.

Doubles

1. Frank\Schnaitter (APU) def. #21 Slezak\Giuliato (UHH), 8-4.
2. Fillat Perez\Bruno Figlia (UHH) def. Pejic\Schmid (APU), 8-7 (8-6).
3. Zukeran\Wu (UHH) def. Jesse Haas\Nuno (APU), 8-5.

Season Records: UH Hilo 16-2, Azusa Pacific 25-2.