SURPRISE, Ariz.--UH Hilo didn't have a lot left in the tank and No. 1 nationally ranked Columbus State often looked like the F-16 Fighter Jets that routinely fly over the Surprise Tennis and Racquet Center.

The Clippers, also the No. 1 seed in the tournament, remained unbeaten with a 4-0 win over the Vulcans at the NCAA Division II Men's Tennis Semifinals on Wednesday. Columbus State is now 23-0 on the season and the Vulcans wrap up at 11-3.

CSU will now face defending national champion Barry (a 4-0 winner over Indianapolis) on Thursday at 2 pm. The Vulcans will return home with the third place trophy for the second time in two years.

"The guys fought hard, but Columbus State came out firing right away and were aggressive from the start," said Vulcan head coach Kallen Mizuguchi.

The Clippers were in the control from the get-go. The top-ranked doubles duo of Alvaro Regalado and Javier Cueto Ramos took out Martin Soukal and Santiago Di Loreto on court one, 6-1, and a few moments later CSU won on court (6-3) to grab the doubles point.

In singles, the fresher Clippers won on court four and six to take a 3-0 lead, needing just one more win to seal the deal. UH HIlo's Chun En Wu and Di Loreto made that difficult on their courts three and five, both winning their first sets in a tiebreaker. .But No. 2 ranked Regalado finished the match with a straight sets victory over No. 22 Soukal, 6-1, 6-3 to finish the match.

It has been a long, strange season for the Vulcans, who began the 2020-21 season with all but three of their players off campus and finished with another third place trophy at the national championships.

"It is crazy to think about how this season almost didn't happen because of COVID, and that turning into a long ride to the NCAA Final Four," Mizuguchi said. "We have a lot to be grateful for . We won our first conference title, won the regional championship and everyone stayed healthy and safe. 

"I am grateful for our amazing athletic department and Chancellor Irwin for their support throughout the year."

MATCH RESULTS--NCAA SEMIFINALS
Surprise Tennis & Racquet Center, Surprise, Arizona
#1 Columbus State 4, #6 Hawai`i Hilo 0

SINGLES COMPETITION
1. #2 Alvaro Regalado (CSU) def. #22 Martin Soukal (UHH), 6-1, 6-3.
2. #15 Christian Garay (CSU vs. Alessio Demichelis (UHH), 7-5, 1-2, UNF.
3. Tommaso Schald (CSU) vs. Chun En Wu (UHH), 6-7 (3-7), 1-2, UNF.
4. Javier Cueto Ramos (CSU) def. Luca Checchia (UHH), 6-1, 6-1.
5. Justin Welz (CSU) vs. Santiago Di Loreto (UHH), 6-7 (3-7), UNF.
6. Pietro Martinetti (CSU) def. Joshua Liu (UHH), 6-2, 6-1. 
Order of finish: 4-6-1

DOUBLES COMPETITION
1. #1 Regaldo/Ramos (CSU) def. Soukal/Di Loreto (UHH), 6-1.
2. Steen/Garay (CSU) def. Checchia/Liu (UHH), 6-3.
3. Martinetti/Schold (CSU) vs. En Wu/Demichelis (UHH), 5-4, UNF.
Order of finish: 1-2
Time: Two hours
RECORDS: #1 Columbus State 23-0, #6 UH Hilo 11-2