A tennis player who helped clinch a win during a match between two nationally ranked teams and a softball pitcher who threw 12 innings of shutout ball are the UH Hilo Pepsi Athletes of the Week for April 8-11.

Junior transfer Joshua Liu played a huge and clinching role in UH HIlo's 4-3 tennis win over Hawaii Pacific last week on Oahu.  With the team scored tied at 3-3, the former Sonoma State player cemented the match for the Vulcans with a victory on court five in a wild 6-7 (8-10), 6-4, 7-6 (7-1) verdict. Additionally, his doubles win on court three (6-1) with Luca Checchia helped the Vulcans secure the doubles point. It was a huge team win for the No. 14 nationally ranked Vulcans over the No. 10 ranked Sharks, giving them some momentum heading into next week's Pacific West Conference Championships. On the season, the left-hander from Malaysia is 5-2 in singles and 4-2 in doubles.

Veteran righthander Leah Gonzales stepped up big for the Vulcans in the pitching circle during 5-0 and 3-0 wins over Chaminade over the weekend. Making just her second and third appearances of the season, the senior pitched a complete game shutout in Sunday's opener and came on in relief in the second game to also pick up the win. In her start, she tossed a seven-inning shutout, allowing just three hits, no walks and she struck out five. In a five-inning relief stint, the Wilmington, Calif. native gave up just two hits, no walks and four K's. On the day, she pitched a scoreless 12 innings with only five hits, no walks and nine strikeouts. In her Vulcan career which begin in 2017, Gonzales is now 30-18.