SURPRISE, Arizona – The second-day results at the 2024 Pacific West Conference Women's Tennis Championship looked a lot like the men's with the top three seeds advancing and the No. 4-5 match holding most of the drama.
Azusa Pacific advanced into the semifinals, but it wasn't easy against the upset-minded Hawai'i Hilo Vulcans.
APU gained the doubles point pretty quickly with 6-2 and 6-1 scores, and PacWest Player of the Year Madison Kane rolled on Court 1 to a 6-0, 6-3 win to make it 2-0.
Hilo got on the board with a win on Court 6 with Julia Barden's 6-1, 6-2 victory, but the Cougars countered with Miruna Tudor's 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 4. Down 3-1, Hilo's Hikari Osaki won a battle at No. 3, defeating Vini Bautista, 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 to draw UHH within one point. With the last two matches in the third set, the Cougars clinched on Court 2 with Julia Jordan's 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 war with Nanami Okamoto.
APU, now 19-1 on the season, will face Concordia University Irvine for the third time this season where the Cougars have won both meetings.
SINGLES WINS
3. [UHH] H. Osaki def. [APU] V. Bautista – (7-5, 1-6, 6-3)
6. [UHH] J. Barden def. [APU] S. Lopez – (6-1, 6-2)
UP NEXT
Hawai'i Hilo will have two more matches in the consolation bracket, first taking on sixth-seed Biola Friday afternoon.
PACWEST HAWAI'I CHALLENGE
In an effort to elevate Hawai'i-based rivalries, the PacWest Hawai'i Challenge has awarded the top school in athletics competition among the state's Division II institutions going back to the late 1970s.
Comprising 10 sports that all three schools participate in, points are awarded from head-to-head Pacific West Conference matchups as well as final placements at conference-ending championship events. The team with the highest total gets three points while the second highest gets two and the third-place finisher receives one.
