KAILUA-KONA, Hawai`i—Four hours and 15 minutes of drama, fantastic entertainment, and it was all free.
When it was all said and done, No. 15 nationally ranked Hawai`i Hilo earned a ticket to the national tournament with a hard-fought 5-3 NCAA regional men's tennis victory over Point Loma on Monday afternoon at the Holua Tennis Center.
The Vulcans had to battle back from behind to secure their second-ever trip to the NCAA tournament, which will be held May 9-12 at the Surprise (Arizona) Tennis and Racquet Center.
"I am so proud of this team, their grit and their fight," said head coach
Tina McDermott 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."
The Sea Lions won two of the three doubles matches, including a tiebreaker on court two, UHH's
Vaclav Slezak and
Alessandro Giuliato won easily on court one, but
Gregory Zukeran and
Chun En Wu were upended at third doubles (8-6), and the PLNU duo of Thomas Dafcik and Yuki Okamoto won a seesaw match on court two, 8-7 (10-8) over
Alex Fillat Perez and
Bruno Figlia. The Sea Lions won the final three points of the tiebreaker to gain the team point and take a 2-1 lead.
"I was concerned, but not worried," McDermott said. "I believe in my players, I know what kind of fight that they have in them.
The Vulcans began their comeback with an easy win at No. 2 singles by Giuliato (6-0, 6-1), and Fillat Perez was next with a 6-2, 6-4 victory at No. 4 over CJ Erion to give UHH a 3-2 lead. After a long first set, Arturo Dell`eva won UH Hilo's third singles match over Jack Alston, 6-4, 6-1.
Even with a 4-2 lead, the drama was far from over. In a riveting match on court one, Point Loma's Dafcik won a highly entering match over Slezak, 3-6, 6-3, 6-0 to make the team score, 4-3. On court six, Zukeran and Tim Soderman split sets, leaving everyone rushing to court three where Wu was in a third set with Okamoto.
The two split sets, before Wu won out, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, ending the action on court six and sending the remaining Vulcan team to charge and mob Wu.
The Vulcans defeated Point Loma 6-3 back in March in San Diego, but this match was much closer.
"At this time of year, as you move on, the margin for error is smaller," McDermott added. "Every match in the latter part of the season has been a fight for us."
The Vulcans will rest for a day and will then begin preparation for Arizona. They will find out on Wednesday who their first round opponent is in the 16-team field.
Monday, April 30, NCAA West Regional
Singles
- #37 Thomas Dafcik (PL) def. #31 Vaclav Slezak (UHH), 3-6, 6-3, 6-0.
- #49 Alessandro Giuliato (UHH) def. Brendon Millington (PL), 6-0, 6-1.
- Chun En Wu (UHH) def. Yuki Okamoto (PL), 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.
- Alex Fillat Perez (UHH) def. CJ Erion (PL), 6-2, 6-4.
- Arturo Dell'eva (UHH) def. Jack Alston (PL), 6-4, 6-1.
- Gregory Zukeran (UHH) vs. Tim Soderman (PL), 2-6, 7-6 (7-2), Unf.
Doubles
- #23 Slezak\Giuliato (UHH) def. Millington/Alston (PL), 8-2.
- Okamoto/Dafcik (PL) def. Fillat Perez\Bruno Figlia (UHH), 8-7 (10-8).
- Erion/Alston (PL) def Zukeran\Wu (UHH), 8-6.
TEAM SCORE: UH Hilo 5, Point Loma 3
Order of finish (doubles): 1, 3, 2 (singles) 2, 4, 5, 1, 3
