BAY AREA, California – The Hawai'i Hilo women's tennis team capped the opening month of play with a trip to northern California where the Vulcans split their matches with a thrilling 4-3 win over Dominican and a tough 6-1 loss to Academy of Art.
Hikari Osaki went 2-0 in singles matches with a dominant 6-0, 6-0 victory against Dominican in the No. 5 spot followed by a 6-0, 6-2 win in the No. 4 flight against ART U.
Against the Penguins, It was the second consecutive match the Vulcans had to fight back from being down 1-0 after dropping the doubles point.
"Overall, it was pretty positive. Especially with the win over Dominican — they were voted above us," Vulcans head coach Kallen Mizuguchi said. "It was nice to get out of Hawai'i and play some matches and see the competition in northern California."
In the singles round, the Vulcans quickly racked up three wins to make it a 3-1 match, but the Penguins took the wins in the No. 1 and No. 2 positions as it came down to the No. 3 match between Nanami Okamoto and Astrid Craig.
With each player at one set apiece, Okamoto clinched the deciding set, 6-2, to take the Vulcans victory.
Hawai'i Hilo was also scheduled to play Holy Names, but the match was canceled due to weather.
WHAT'S NEXT
Hawai'i Hilo moved to a 4-3 record as Dominican fell to 1-2 overall and Academy of Art improved to 3-1 overall.
The Vulcans will have two weeks to prepare for a five-match road slate in southern California against Point Loma Nazarene, Biola, Midwestern State, Concordia University Irvine and Azusa Pacific.
Hawai'i Hilo will have its three lone home matches of the season April 1-2 against Chaminade and HPU at the on-campus UHH Tennis Courts.
