Five key matches in six days in southern California begins on Monday for the No. 20 ranked UH Hilo men's tennis team. 

The Vulcans, 5-2 on the season, will begin the trek through the southland with a Monday (March 25) match at Biola (4 pm Pacific), followed by encounters at Concordia (Tuesday, 1 pm), Azusa Pacific (Wednesday, 2:30), Point Loma (Friday, 1 pm) and UC San Diego (Saturday, noon). 

The matches are critical for UH HIlo's seeding at the Pacific West Conference Championships (April 17-20). The only other matches that the Vulcans will play prior to the conference tournament is a April 6 match at Hawai`i Pacific.

The Vulcans are currently the second highest ranked team in the NCAA Division II west region (HPU is first). Right behind them (according to national rankings) is Azusa Pacific at No. 21. The Vulcans and Cougars split matches in 2018, with UHH winning the regular season match at APU and the Cougars winning the PacWest title bout.

UH Hilo has been strong at the top of the singles and doubles ladders thus far. No. 1 Vaclav Slezak is 5-2 in singles play and Alessandro Giuliato is 6-0. That combo is 4-2 at No. 1 doubles. Freshman Martin Soukal is 5-1 on the third singles court, and teaming with Chun En Wu is 6-1 at No. 2 doubles.

Here is a look at UH Hilo's opponents during their southern California visit.
Biola: The Eagles are 6-8 on the season, most recently having lost a narrow 4-3 match to defending Division III national champion Middlebury (NY). Biola also has a close loss to Point Loma (4-2) and fell to rival Azusa Pacific, 4-0. Like the Vulcans, the Eagles are strong at the top of the line-up, with Logan Blair at No. 1 (7-5), David Garcia at No. 2 (6-3) and Derek James playings lights out at No. 3 (9-1). Garcia and James team at No. 3 doubles for a 6-3 mark on the year.
Concordia: The Eagles are 9-4 on the season, with a 4-2 win over Point Loma in their last match. They have losses to UC San Diego (4-3) and Azusa Pacific (4-0). Last year, the Eagles just missed a spot in the NCAA West Region field after finishing fourth at the PacWest tournament.
Azusa Pacific: The Cougars are a sparkling 15-1 on the season and are riding a seven-match win streak heading into a Tuesday match with Middlebury. Their only loss this season was a 4-2 setback to No. 2 nationally ranked Hawaii Pacific. No. 1 singles player Jakob Schnaitter is currently ranked No. 9 in NCAA listings and his doubles partner Filip Kesina is No. 36 in the ITA rankings. Together, they are ranked No. 5 in doubles. APU has cruised past PacWest foes Point Loma (4-0), Concordia (4-0) and Biola (5-0, twice). They are 10-1 at home this season.
Point Loma: The Sea Lions are 5-5 on the season, win a PacWest win over Biola and losses to Azusa Pacific and Concordia. Point Loma has one of the top players in the region in Thomas Dafcik, who is ranked 14th nationally. Dafcik is 8-0 on the year in singles, and teams with  Yuki Okamoto at No. 1 doubles for a 7-2 record. On court four (singles), Scott Wheeler is 6-2 on the season. Last year, the Vulcans defeated the Sea Lions in the first round of the NCAA west region tournament to advance to the Sweet 16 of the national tournament.
UC San Diego: The Tritons are 5-8 on the season, but have played a tough schedule. Five of their losses are to nationally ranked D-II teams (UH Hilo, Hawaii Pacific twice, Azusa Pacific and West Florida). They have also played four Division I squads. The Vulcans topped the Tritons earlier this year (4-0) in Kona. UCSD, who is in the process of moving to Division I, has a nationally ranked doubles team (No. 41) in Zach Ermert and Sreeganesh Manoharan.