The 2021 UH Hilo women's tennis team started off strong, then hit a rough patch before ultimately finishing the season with a win during a campaign that no one was really sure would take place at all.

The Vulcans missed the back half of their 2020 season due to COVID and also weren't able to practice together during the Fall semester. But come spring, head coach Kallen Mizuguchi was grateful to have a schedule in place that included a mainland trip and the Pacific West Conference Championships in Arizona.

"It was a tough year overall, and honestly in the Fall it was difficult from a coaching standpoint because you didn't know if we would be playing in the spring at all," Mizuguchi said. "We focused a lot on mental health in addition to court time. We wanted to stay positive knowing that there was a chance that we wouldn't have any matches."

Although it wasn't a normal season and it was certainly filled with challenges, it got off to a fast start with one of the biggest upsets in the history of the program.

The Vulcans played their first matches in nearly a year on Valentine's weekend, topping Chaminade in the opening pair of contests to start 2-0. While that was somewhat expected, what happened on Feb. 15 surely wasn't. 

The Vulcans squared off against No. 5 nationally Hawaii Pacific at the Fairmont Orchid Resort on the west side of the Big Island. UH Hilo hadn't beaten the Sharks in a number of seasons, but this day would go down in history as an upset of epic proportions. The Vulcans won the doubles point and picked up a pair of singles victories as the team score went knotted at 3-3 with one match left on the courts.

In that marathon, newcomer Carolina Alfonsin won the third set (6-4) to clinch the match and send her teammates into celebration. The 4-3 win would be the highlight of the season as the Vulcans improved to 3-0.

After a road win over Dominican, the Vulcans improved to 4-1 but would then struggle for most of the rest of the campaign before wrapping up the season with a 4-2 consolation victory over Colorado Mesa at the PacWest tournament to end the season at 8-6. 

"To be honest, I don't think that we played to our potential over the back part of the season," Mizuguchi said. "We had a stronger team than in years previous and it showed in the beginning of the year. But as the season progressed we got flat."

The Vulcans did record a winning season (8-6), their first since 2012. The only senior on the squad, Carmelle Joyner, finished 8-4 in singles to cap a solid career. Newcomers Hannah Highsmith and Alfonsin earned Third Team All-PacWest honors in doubles, and Highsmith was 6-3 in singles action.

"I look forward to developing the players from last year's team and we have strong recruits coming in as well," Mizuguchi added. "I'm excited to get started again."

For team scores and individual records, click here.