SURPRISE, Ariz.—In a battle of island rivals that took place nearly 3,000 miles from home, the No. 1 seed Hawai`i Pacific Sharks topped the No. 2 Hawai`i Hilo Vulcans (4-2) in the championship match of the Pacific West Conference tournament at the Surprise Tennis and Racquet Center.

Both teams have the inside track to host first round NCAA West Region matches, between the dates of May 11-14. That announcement will come soon.

It was the first time in the history of the PacWest Championships that there had been an all-Hawai`i final. It was the second year in a row for the Vulcans to reach the title match.

The Vulcans defeated the Sharks by the same 4-2 score in the final regular match earlier this month, but today No. 3 nationally ranked HPU prevailed. They did so by capturing the doubles point (which the Vulcans won on Oahu) and by winning singles matches on courts one, five and six.

The Sharks began the title quest by winning at third doubles, and then clinched at No. 1 doubles where No. 12 ranked Valentin Masse and Maxine Gayte topped Vaclav Slezak and Martin Soukal, 6-3. On Oahu, the Vulcan team from the Czech Republic won that match, 6-4.

In singles, Masse again flipped the switch. After losing in a tight match to Slezak in Honolulu, today he was the first one off the court with a 6-4, 6-1 win. The Vulcans then got their first point of the day when unbeaten Alessandro Giuliato remained so with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Ondrej Ctverak.

The Sharks took a 3-1 lead on court five when Cheng-Chieh Wang clipped Arturo Dell`Eva, 6-4, 6-4, but the Vulcans answered on court three with Soukal taking down Benjamin Loccisano, 7-6 (7-2), 6-2.

Chun En Wu (UHH) and Gayte had split sets on court four, but the clinching match came on court six where Lukas Bauer defeated Luca Checchia, 6-1, 6-4 to give the title to the Sharks. The Vulcans saw a five-match win streak end with the loss.

The Vulcans will now return to Hilo to rest up and heal, and then get back to work in preparation for the regional and national tournament.
 
Pacific West Conference Championship, Surprise Tennis and Racquet Club, Surprise, Ariz.
#1 Hawai`i Pacific 4, #2 Hawai`I Hilo 2
Singles competition
1. #12 Valentin Masse (HPU) def. #9 Vaclav Slezak (UHH), 6-4, 6-1.
2. #24 Alessandro Giuliato (UHH) def. Ondrej Ctverak (HPU), 6-2, 6-2.
3. #50 Martin Soukal (UHH) def. #74 Benjamin Loccisano (HPU), 7-6 (7-2), 6-2.
4. Chun En Wu (UHH) vs. #33 Maxine Gayte (HPU), 1-6, 6-3, 0-3, UNF.
5. Cheng-Chieh Wang (HPU) def. Arturo Dell`Eva (UHH), 6-4, 6-4.
6. Lukas Bauer (HPU) def. Luca Checchia (UHH) def. 6-1, 6-4.

Singles order of finish: 1-2-5-3-6

Doubles competition
1. #12 Masse/Gayte (HPU) def. Slezak/Soukal (UHH), 6-3.
2. Giuliato/Wu (UHH) vs. Bauer/Wang (HPU), 4-4, UNF.
3. Ctverak/Loccisano (HPU) def. Checchia/Alan Cincunegui (UHH), 6-3.

Doubles order of finish: 3-1

Records: No. 17 Hawai`i Hilo 12-4, #3 Hawai`i Pacific 15-4