SURPRISE, Ariz.--The UH Hilo women's tennis team clinched an exciting 4-1 victory over Concordia University Irvine at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Club on Wednesday morning at the Pacific West Conference Championships.

CUI came into the match as the eighth seed with 4-3 and 4-2 wins earlier this season over the ninth-seed Vulcans.

The saying "third times the charm" seemed to prove true for UHH as they caught a break against CUI in their third meeting and most important match of the season. 

The Red and Black jumped ahead with the doubles point and proceeded to capture wins on courts 4, 5, and 6 in singles.

Hikari Osaki and Akari Ichikawa won the first doubles point for UHH (6-1) while the second court suffered a 6-1 loss. Julia Barden and Nanami Okamoto ended up clinching the doubles point with a thrilling 7-5 victory over CUI on court three. 

Osaki secured the first singles point for the Vulcans, topping Alicia Da Re (CUI) 6-1, 6-0. Okamoto tallied the next point, also taking her opponent down in two sets 6-1, 6-0. With the team score now 3-1, senior Hannah Highsmith was the one to clinch the match with a two-set win over CUI's Jennifer Jolin (6-2, 7-5).

It was UH Hilo's first opening round victory at the PacWest Championships since 2008 (7-1 over Dixie State). It was also the Vulcans' fourth consecutive victory, improving to 6-8 on the season.

The Vulcans advance to the quarterfinals where they will face inner-island rival and the No. 1 seed Hawai'i Pacific, who had a first round bye. This match will take place tomorrow (Thursday, Apr. 21) at 10am HT (1pm PT).
 

Hawai'i Hilo 4, Concordia University Irvine 1
Surprise Tennis & Racquet Club, Surprise, Ariz.

Singles competition
1. Tiffany Carrillo (CUI) vs. C. Alfonsin (UHH) 6-3, 5-5, UNF.
2. Maya Arksey (CUI) def. S. Dafincescu (UHH) 6-3, 6-1. 
3. J. Barden (UHH) vs. Alyssa Zayat (CUI) 2-6, 6-2, UNF.
4. N. Okamoto (UHH) def. Kimia Rahmani (CUI) 6-1, 6-0 
.5. H. Osaki (UHH) def. Alicia Da Re (CUI) 6-1, 6-0. 
6. H. Highsmith (UHH) def. Jennifer Jolin (CUI) 6-2, 7-5.
Order of Finish: 2-5-4-6

Doubles competition
1. Okamoto/Barden (UHH) def. Carrillo/Arksey (CUI) 7-5. 
2. Zayat/Rahmani (CUI) def. Highsmith/C. De Mattos (UHH) 6-1.
3. Osaki/Ichikawa (UHH) def. Da Re/Jolin (CUI) 6-1.
Order of Finish: 3-2-1

Records: Hawai'i Hilo 6-8, Concordia University Irvine 8-14