SURPRISE, Ariz.--For the second time in the last two NCAA tennis tournaments, the Hawai`i Hilo Vulcans are headed to the Final Four.

It was anything other than easy as the Vulcans eked out a 4-2 win over Concordia of New York on a warm and windy afternoon at the Surprise Tennis and Racquet Center. In theory, the 4-5 seed match-up is supposed to be the closest bout of the tournament, and this one was all that on the opening day of quarterfinals.

The No. 6 nationally ranked Vulcans improved to 11-2 with the win, while the Clippers suffered their first loss of the season (14-1).

UH Hilo now advances to Wednesday's semifinals and will take on No. 1 seed Columbus State. The Cougars were a 4-0 winner today over Cameron. 

"I believe that when it comes to tight matches, the energy our guys give off really helps fire each other up," said Vulcan head coach Kallen Mizuguchi. "It was a tough match, and I think coming from Hawaii and being used to playing in the heat was an advantage for us."

The No. 5 seed Vulcans and No. 4 seed Clippers battled it out on the final four singles courts after UH Hilo won the doubles points and took singles matches on courts one and two.

The Vulcans never trailed in any of the doubles matches, first taking victory on court two where Luca Checchia and Joshua Liu won 6-3. The Vulcans No. 1 duo of Martin Soukal and Santiago Di Loreto was next to clinch the doubles point, also with a 6-3 win. Chun En Wu and Alessio Demichelis were up 5-3 on the third court when the point was clinched. 

In singles play, Soukal continued his hot run with a relatively quick 6-2, 6-2 win over Concordia's Tobias Lentz. Soukal, ranked #22 in ITA ratings, rolled by #27 Lentz for his ninth consecutive win on the Surprise Tennis Center Courts, and his sixth this year. About 30 minutes later on court two, Demichelis outlasted Henry Masters in a back-and-forth match, 7-5, 6-4. 

Those were the only straight set matches on the singles courts. With the Vulcans leading 3-0, it would be another hour before the actual score was finally in the books.

All four matches were wars that went deep into the third set. The Clippers won the first set in three of the four matches, setting the tone for a comeback. But the Vulcans battled back to even things up, sending the match into more drama and overtime.

Concordia's William Nilsson got the Clippers on the scoreboard with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 win over Di Loreto to make the team score 3-1. Jan Godfrey pulled his team to within one point a few moments later with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Checchia (3-2). En Wu was up 5-3 in the third set of his match on court three, but Jonatan Lundahl fought back to tie it at 5-5. 

Finally on court six, it was Liu who provided the clincher with a 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 see-saw triumph over Oskar Irdoja. En Wu's match went as unfinished as the Vulcans had a mini-celebration before grabbing water and heading back to the hotel to get ready for Wednesday.

"Being in the third set in each of the final four matches, anything could have happened," Mizuguchi added. 

Now it is back to the Final Four for the Vulcans, who also reached this pinnacle in 2019 before losing to eventual national champion Barry in the semifinals. 

"Being able to reach the Final Four again is an awesome feeling for this program," the third-year coach said. "There are a lot of tough teams throughout the country, and to be in the semifinals with some of the nation's best is a good feeling for the program and university."

MATCH RESULTS--NCAA QUARTERFINALS
Surprise Tennis & Racquet Center, Surprise, Arizona
#6 Hawaii Hilo 4, #22 Concordia NY 2

SINGLES COMPETITION
1. #22 Martin Soukal (UHH) def. #27 Tobias Lentz (CUNY), 6-2, 6-2.
2. Alessio Demichelis (UHH) def. Henry Masters (CUNY), 7-5, 6-4.
3. Chun En Wu (UHH) vs. Jonatan Lundahl (CUNY), 5-7, 6-1, 5-5, UNF.
4. Jan Godfrey Seno (CUNY) def. Luca Checchia (UHH), 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.
5. William Nilsson (SUNY) def. Santiago Di Loreto (UHH) 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.
6. Joshua Liu (UHH) def. Oskar Irdoja (SUNY), 6-3, 3-6, 7-5.
Order of finish: 1-2-5-4-6

DOUBLES COMPETITION
1. Soukal/Di Loreto (UHH) def. #15 Lentz/Lundahl, 6-3.
2. Checchia/Liu (UHH) def. Nilsson/Seno (CUNY), 6-3.
3. En Wu/Demichelis (UHH) vs. Irdoja/Masters (CUNY), 5-3, UNF.
Order of finish: 2-1
Time: 3 hours and 20 minutes
RECORDS: #6 Hawaii Hilo 11-2, #22 Concordia NY 14-1