HILO, Hawai'i – It was an intense battle to the final points as Hawai'i Hilo Men's Tennis dropped a heartbreaker to No. 25 HPU, 4-3, with daylight running low on a Saturday afternoon at the UHH Tennis Courts.

It was an epic showdown on Court 1 as Ryo Minakata was just narrowly defeated by Robin Sanz with a 7-5 score in the ultimate match-deciding third set. Minakata was bested in the opening set on a 7-4 seven-point tiebreaker loss but battled back big to force the marathon duel. In the waning moments of the match — and Saturday's daylight — Minakata had to be tended to for leg cramping issues. Shortly after play resumed, Sanz managed to close out the win for the Sharks.

This was the third matchup of the season between the two teams after the Vulcans opened the season with consecutive 5-2 losses to the Sharks. Hawai'i Hilo looked to flip the script by claiming the doubles point with victories by Minakata and Coby Pearce, and Lamar Bartley and Cian McDonnell.

With singles play going, HPU managed to quickly claim wins on Courts 2, 5 and 6 to take a 3-1 lead. Filippo Di Perna battled tough through an ailment for a two-set victory on Court 3, and Lamar Bartley stormed back to take the win on Court 4 to even the match score.

SINGLES WINS

3. [UHH] F. Di Perna def. [HPU] J. Walder – (6-4, 7-6)
4. [UHH] L. Bartley def. [HPU] M. Matic – (5-7, 6-3, 6-4)

DOUBLES WINS

1. [UHH] R. Minakata + C. Pearce def. [HPU] J. Beran + M. Matic – (6-4)
2. [UHH] L. Bartley + C. McDonnell def. [HPU] L. Richter + J. Walder – (6-2)

UP NEXT

Hawai'i Hilo moved to 6-7 overall while HPU moved to a 9-2 record. The two teams are scheduled to play again Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. following the women's teams.

The Vulcans will also be celebrating seniors Luca Matheiowetz, Jacob Gailey, Ryo Minakata, Cian McDonnell and Lamar Bartley.

Pacific West Conference Championship is set for April 17-20 at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex in Arizona.