SURPRISE, Ariz.--The University of Hawai`i Hilo men's tennis team has earned the No. 2 seed at this week's Pacific West Conference Championships and will face No. 7 seed Biola University in a first round match on Thursday at 9 a.m. Pacific time.

The Vulcan women will open a day earlier as the No. 12 seed against No. 5 Point Loma, on Wednesday at 9 a.m. All matches for both the men and women will be played at the Surprise Tennis and Racquet Center. 

Should the UH Hilo men win, they would face the winner of No. 3 Azusa Pacific and No. 6 Point Loma in the semi-finals on Friday. If the Vulcan women win, they would face No. 1 seed Academy of Art on Thursday. A loss for either team sends them into the consolation bracket.

No PacWest standings are kept for tennis during the season, although a number of the teams play each other. The top three seeds on the men's side all took turns beating each other, and while there are a number or criteria that ultimately determines the seedings, Hawai`i Pacific gained the top seed and has the top national ranking at No. 6. The Vulcans are ranked 12th nationally and Azusa Pacific is No. 15.

The Vulcans defeated Biola earlier this season by a 4-0 count. UHH lost to Azusa Pacific in March (4-3) and defeated Hawai`i Pacific (5-2) in their last regular season match on Oahu. Last year, they reached the title match, falling to the Cougars. 

The UH Hilo women (5-10) lost to Point Loma in San Diego earlier this year (4-0) and also fell to Academy of Art (5-1). Last season, they lost their tournament opener to Stanislaus State (5-4) and then defeated Holy Names in a consolation match. 

Some teams from the California Collegiate Athletic Associaiton (CCAA) compete as PacWest Conference members in tennis. 

The following is a mini-breakdown of the fields 

Men's Championships
No. 1 Hawai`i Pacific (12-4). Ranked No. 6 nationally. Defeated APU 5-2, lost to UHH 4-2. Defeated No. 3 Flagler, No. 4 West Florida. Lost to No. 1 Barry and No. 9 St. Leo.
No. 2 Hawai`i Hilo (10-3). Ranked No. 12 nationally. Defeated HPU 4-2, lost to APU 4-3. Defeated No. 10 Southwest Baptist. Lost to No. 1 Barry.
No. 3 Azusa Pacific (21-2). Ranked No. 15 nationally. Defeated UHH 4-3, Lost to HPU 5-2. Defeated No. 5 St. Leo, lost to No. 3 Flagler. Defending conference champion.
No. 4 Sonoma State (9-5). Ranked No. 35 nationally. Lost to APU 4-2.
No. 5 Concordia (11-8). Lost to UHH 4-0, Lost to APU 4-0, Lost to Sonoma State, 4-3. Split with Point Loma, defeated Biola twice.
No. 6 Point Loma (7-8). Lost to APU twice, Lost to UHH, Lost to HPU. Split with Concordia, beat Biola twice.
No. 7 Biola (9-12). Lost to UHH, Lost to APU twice, Lost to Concordia twice. 
No. 8 Holy Names (4-8). Lost to UHH, Lost to HPU, Lost to Sonoma State twice, Lost to Biola.

Women's Championships
No. 1 Academy of Art (12-4). Ranked No. 8 nationally.
No. 2 Hawai`i Pacific (10-5). Ranked No. 10 nationally. Defending conference champion. 
No. 3 Azusa Pacific (12-7). 
No. 4 Sonoma State (12-6).
No. 5 Point Loma (10-6)
No. 6 Concordia (9-10)
No. 7 Cal State LA (6-10)
No. 8 Fresno Pacific (13-2)
No. 9 Stanislaus State (11-7)
No. 10 Holy Names (8-12)
No. 11 Biola (9-10)
No. 12 Hawai`i Hilo (5-10)

FULL MEN'S BRACKET

FULL WOMEN'S BRACKET