WAIPAHU, Oah`u--An early season rematch of the 2021 Pacific West Conference championship between Hawai`i Hilo and Azusa Pacific went the way of the visiting Cougars on Saturday at the Patsy T. Mink Oahu Regional Tennis Center, 4-3.
It was the same score as last April in Surprise, Arizona, but this time the Cougars were on top of the scoreboard. In a match-up of the teams voted to go 1-2 in the 2022 PWC preseason poll, the No. 12 nationally ranked Cougars edged No. 4 Hawai`i Hilo.
APU won the doubles point and the two squads then split the singles matches. The Cougars improved to 3-1 on the season while the Vulcans dropped to 0-2.
To kick off the match, the Cougars won on doubles court one with Ryan Nuno and Leyton Bohren winning a 6-3 battle over
Martin Soukal and
Alessio Demichelis. The Vulcans countered with a victory on three with
Luca Checchia and
Agustin Gentile winning 6-4, but APU clinched on court two with a 7-5 triumph when Miha Velecki and Sam Sippel edged
Luca Matheiowetz and
Joshua Liu.
In singles, UHH's No. 1 Soukal took out Nuno (6-3, 6-1) to even the match at 1-1. Bohren put APU back up a point with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Gentile on court four and Sippel added another digit to the team total on court two, topping Demichelis, 6-4 6-4.
The Vulcans won a pair of comeback three-setters on courts five and six. Matheiowetz rallied for a 6-7 (3-7), 6-1, 6-3 victory over Velicki and Liu sprinted back to top Ivan Noel Horning 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 10-7. The clinching match though belonged to APU's Elias Emilio Walter, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 over Checchia.
UH Hilo will hit the courts on Sunday at noon against Concordia and will wrap up the Oahu trip with a Monday match-up versus Hawai`i Pacific.
Patsy T. Mink Oahu Regional Tennis Center
Singles competition
1.
Martin Soukal (UHH) def. Ryan Nuno (APU), 6-3, 6-1.
2. Sam Sippel (APU) def.
Alessio Demichelis (UHH), 6-4, 6-4.
3. Elias Emilio Walter (APU) def.
Luca Checchia (UHH), 7-6 (7-4), 6-2.
4. Leyton Bohren (APU) def.
Agustin Gentile (UHH), 6-3, 6-2.
5.
Luca Matheiowetz (UHH) def. Miha Velicki (APU), 6-7 (3-7), 6-1, 6-3.
6.
Joshua Liu (UHH) def. Ivan Noel Horning (APU), 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 10-7.
Singles order of finish: 4-1-2-3-5-6
Doubles competition
1. Nuno/Bohren (APU) def. Soukal/Demichelis (UHH), 6-3.
2. Velicki/Walter (APU) def. Matheiowetz/Liu (UHH), 7-5.
3. Checchia/Gentile (UHH) def. Horning/Sippel (APU), 6-4.
Doubles order of finish: 1-3-2
Records: #12 Azusa Pacific 3-1, #4 Hawai`i Hilo 0-2
