HILO, Hawai`i--It was a match that many didn't think would be played, and if it was it would surely be charted out as a win for unbeaten and No. 4 nationally ranked Hawaii Pacific over host Hawaii Hilo in men's tennis on Saturday.

But it was played, and In a stunner the host Vulcans topped the Sharks 4-2, in the only match this season to be contested on UH Hilo's newly resurfaced on-campus courts. In front of a large local crowd, hungry to catch a rare glimpse of the Vulcans, UH Hilo rallied back from a 1-0 deficit after doubles to take the all important win.

It was the sixth straight victory for UH Hilo, who climbed one game below .500 at 7-8. Just like that, they are now in contention for a postseason berth, which could be claimed at the Pacific West Conference Championships, April 21-23 in Surprise, Arizona. To qualify for NCAA regional play, a team must have at least a .500 record, which Coach Kallen Mizuguchi's team now has a chance of achieving with two or three victories at the conference championships.

Hawaii Pacific is now 10-1 on the season.

This match was in serious jeopardy of being played as early as Saturday morning. With rain in the Hilo forecast, the chances were high that the Sharks wouldn't chance the trip and save the flight money. But the wet weather stayed away long enough for the match to be played and allowed the Vulcans to celebrate their seniors, Martin Soukal and Luca Checchia and an upset victory.

After the Sharks took the doubles point with wins on courts one and two, Soukal was then the one to shine first for UH Hilo. The No. 3 ranked player in the nation took out Jan Pleva in a eye-blinking 49 minutes to tie the team score at 1-1. Soukal, the senior from the Czech Republic, is now 12-2. One of his two losses in 2022 was to HPU's unbeaten Jordi Walder in three sets, and the rematch was highly anticipated. But Walder, who played doubles today, did not play singles. Walder is ranked No. 2 in NCAA Division II.

After Soukal's win tied the match, the Vulcans then took a 3-1 lead about 20 minutes later when the Vulcans captured courts four and five at almost the same time. Luca Matheiowetz continued his torrid run, defeating Benjamin Loccisano, 6-4, 6-2. The second-year freshman avenged a loss to Loccisano earlier this season and improved to 11-2 at the same time. In the same minute, Joshua Liu took out Jan Heine on court five, 6-3, 6-3.

But the Sharks pulled to within one team point with Jakub Beran's win over Checchia on court three, 6-4, 6-4. That left two matches remaining, both advancing into the third set on courts two and six.

Alessio Demichelis, who dropped the first set to Robin Sanz, stayed alive and perhaps saved the match for the Vulcans with a tiebreaker win in set two (9-7). He then claimed the third set as well in a grueling duel that ultimately took over two and a half hours. When it was all said and done, Demichelis clinched for the home team with the 4-6, 7-6, 7-5 score. Luka Petrikic's first-ever collegiate match on court six against Ethan Sherwood went unfinished, despite Petrikic's comeback win in a set two tiebreaker (9-7).

The Vulcans now have three weeks to prep to defend their PacWest title. UH Hilo is expected to be seeded fourth or third at best in the ten-team field. The next set of PacWest ranking will be announced on Tuesday. 

Hawai`i Hilo 4, No. 4 Hawai`i Pacific 2
University of Hawai`i Hilo Campus Courts

Singles competition
1. M Soukal (UHH) def. Jan Pleva (HPU), 6-1, 6-3.
2. A Demichelis (UHH) def. Robin Sanz (HPU), 4-6, 7-6 (9-7), 7-5.
3. Jakub Beran (HPU) def. L Checchia (UHH), 6-4, 6-4.
4. L Matheiowetz (UHH) def. Benjamin Loccisano (HPU), 6-4, 6-2.
5. J Liu (UHH) def. Jan Heine (HPU), 6-3, 6-3.
6. L Petrikic (UHH) vs. Ethan Sherwood (HPU), 3-6, 7-6 (9-7), 2-3, UNF.
Singles order of finish: 1-4-5-3-2

Doubles competition
1. Pleva/Jordi Walder (HPU) def. L Hamano/Soukal (UHH), 6-4.
2. Beran/Sanz (HPU) def. Liu/Checchia (UHH), 6-2 
3. Matheiowetz/Demichelis (UHH) vs. Heine/Loccisano (HPU), 5-3, UNF.
Doubles order of finish: 2-1