SURPRISE, Arizona – Hawai'i Hilo Women's Tennis wrapped up a seventh-place finish at the 2024 Pacific West Conference Championships.
After falling to Azusa Pacific in the quarterfinals, Hawai'i Hilo entered the consolation bracket, first taking on Biola before finishing against Dominican.
The Eagles advanced to the Fifth Place game by winning on the top courts in a 4-2 win over Hawaii Hilo. After taking the doubles point, Biola won in straight sets on courts one (Colbeyshae Emery) and two (Lilly McNeill) to take a 3-0 lead. The Vulcans would battle back with a victory on court three (Hikari Osaki) and court six (Julia Barden) to make it 3-2, the Eagles closed it out on court five with Alex Mann winning a battle over Hana Hofmanova, 6-4, 7-5.
The Vulcans won the doubles point and survived a tight battle on the singles courts for a 4-2 season-ending win over Dominican. The Penguins won the top two singles courts via Audrey Rafols and Gina Dudley, but the Vulcans picked up two team points from Julia Barden on court five and Satoho Toriumi on court four, both in straight sets. Still, it would be another hour and 15 minutes before the Vulcans would clinch on three where Hikari Osaki won a marathon battle with Deepalakshmi Vanaraja, 1-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-2). The Vulcans end their season at 11-9, while the Penguins wrap up at 12-9.
SINGLES WINS vs BIOLA
3. [UHH] H. Osaki def. [BU] K. Mazzeo – (6-1, 6-4)
6. [UHH] J. Barden def. [BU] I. Chavarria – (6-2, 6-2)
SINGLES WINS vs DOMINICAN
3. [UHH] H. Osaki def. [DUC] D. Vanaraja – (1-6, 6-2, 7-6)
4. [UHH] S. Toriumi def. [DUC] M. Gavrilov – (6-2, 6-0)
5. [UHH] J. Barden def. [DUC] C. Guerrero – (6-0, 6-2)
DOUBLES WINS vs DOMINICAN
2. [UHH] J. Barden + S. Toriumi def. [DUC] D. Vanaraja + C. Guerrero – (6-4)
3. [UHH] H. Osaki + M. Mountain def. [DUC] M. Gavrilov + H. Garcia – (6-4)
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.
More information is available at HiloAthletics.com/PacWestHawaii.
