Surprise, Ariz.--Alessio Demichelis clinched the Vulcans 4-2 victory over Point Loma in an exciting two-set match against PLNU's David Strassburger. Demichelis secured the first set by a 7-6 (7-5) tie break. He then came back from behind to surpass Strassburger (PLNU) 7-5 to solidify the team win on Saturday morning at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Club.

The Vulcans victory put them in third place in the PacWest Championships and most importantly 9-9 in the season, making that 500 winning percentage mark they needed to have a chance of advancing to regionals.

The Vulcans will now wait to see where they fall in terms of postseason play as the NCAA DII Men's and Women's tennis committee will decide the teams who will advance on May 3.

The Red and Black secured the all important doubles point against the Sea Lions, but PLNU rallied back to take the first singles win on court 5. A big win by Luca Matheiowetz gave the Vulcans the bump and Martin Soukal extended UHH's lead with a two-set win on the first court. 

The Vulcans took a hit on court 6, leaving the score 3-2 with courts 2 and 3 in action. The Vulcans needed just one win to bring home the victory and thanks to Demichelis' clinch, the Vulcans did just that.

UH Hilo 4, Point Loma 2
Surprise Tennis & Racquet Club, Surprise, Ariz.

Singles competition
1. M Soukal (UHH) def. Tyler Davis (PL), 7-6 (7-3), 6-4.
2. A Demichelis (UHH) def. David Strassburger (PL), 7-6 (7-5), 7-5.
3. L Checchia (UHH) vs. Alexander Leischner (PL), 5-7, 6-4, 0-3.
4. L Matheiowetz (UHH) def. Nabeel Khan (PL), 6-3, 6-2.
5. Alejandro Castaneda (PL) def. A Gentile (UHH), 6-3, 6-2.
6. Jasdeep Paintal (PL) def. J Liu (UHH), 6-4, 7-5.
Singles order of finish: 5-4-1-6-2

Doubles competition
1. L Hamano/Soukal (UHH) vs. Davis/Khan (PL), 6-6 (1-1), UNF.
2. Lukas Schuster/Strassburger (PL) def. Liu/Checchia (UHH), 6-4.
3. Castaneda/Leischner (PL) def. Matheiowetz/Demichelis (UHH), 6-4.
Doubles order of finish: 2-3

Records: UH Hilo 9-9, Point Loma 11-12