SURPRISE, Arizona – The Hawai'i Hilo tennis team fell to top-seeded HPU, 4-1, in Thursday's opening round of the Pacific West Conference Championships at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex.

The Vulcans — seeded No. 8 in the eight-team postseason tournament — fell behind early with 6-1 and 6-2 scores in doubles matches as HPU took a 1-0 lead.

The Sharks quickly added on with singles-wins at the No. 1 and No. 5 spots before Hawai'i Hilo's Filippo Di Perna powered through Jakub Beran, 6-1 and 6-4, for the win on court two.

While Coby Pearce battled through a fierce 7-5 tiebreaker to take the second set on court six, HPU locked up the victory with a win at the No. 3 spot.

It was the third time this season the two squads matched up as HPU managed to take the victory all three times.

SINGLES WINS

2.  [UHH] F. Di Perna def. [HPU] J. Beran (6-1, 6-4)

WHAT'S NEXT

Hawai'i Hilo fell to 4-11 overall as HPU moved to an 11-5 record.

The Vulcans will continue to play out the rest of the tournament in the consolation bracket beginning with a match against fifth-seeded Biola on Friday.

The Sharks advance to the PacWest Championships semifinals round to play Point Loma Nazarene.

The championship match is set for Saturday, April 22 at 1 p.m. (Mountain Time) at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex.