SURPRISE, Arizona--Not much is known about UH Hilo's opponent in Tuesday's NCAA Division II Men's Tennis Quarterfinals, the Concordia College NY Clippers.

The two teams couldn't be any further apart geographically (4,887 miles to be exact) and the Vulcans and Clippers have no common opponents this season. Concordia is 14-0 on the year, one of three unbeaten teams left in Division II, and they rolled to wins over Le Moyne and Franklin Pierce (both 4-0) to win the East Region tournament.

The No. 6 nationally ranked Vulcans are 10-2 on the year and have won eight straight matches. Both teams have made their way to the Surprise Tennis and Racquet Center and will square off tomorrow at 2 pm PT, at the same time as the other three quarterfinal matches. 

The UH Hilo-Concordia winner will advance to Wednesday's semifinals to play the winner of #1 seed Columbus State and Cameron.

"it's been a long season for many of the players, but in a good way of course," said third-year Vulcan head coach Kallen Mizuguchi. "I am proud of the way our guys have overcome the challenges that they have faced this year. They are some of the toughest people that I have had the pleasure to work with."

The Vulcans are led by Martin Soukal, who on court one is 8-3 in singles and 7-4 in doubles. He hasn't dropped a match through the Pacific West Conference tournament and the NCAA Division II West Regionals. He is ranked No. 22 in the latest ITA national singles listing. Freshman Alessio Demichelis is 6-4 on court two, Luca Checchia is 7-1 playing on courts 3-4 and Joshua Liu also has a sterling record with a 7-2 marks on courts 5-6. 

In doubles, UHH's leaders are Chun En Wu who is 7-3 mostly on court three, and Santiago Di Loreto who has the same record at 1-2 doubles.

No. 22 nationally ranked Concordia is led by Tobias Lentz, who is ranked 27th in singles with a 10-1 record. He and doubles teammate Jonatan Lundahl are listed No. 15 on the ITA doubles list.

The Vulcans have stayed in Arizona since winning the NCAA Regional Championship on May 8, training, studying and in some cases, graduating (En Wu and Di Loreto).

"Whatever the results may be, I am very proud of this team," Mizuguchi added. "They give it their best every time.

"I am also grateful for our amazing athletic department, making all of this possible. Without their hard work this amazing season wouldn't have been possible."

The Vulcans are making their third consecutive trip to the NCAA National tournament. They finished tied for third in 2019.