TYLER, Texas – Hawaiʻi Hilo Men's Tennis closed out its spring break road trip going 1-1 in East Texas, falling to No. 4 UT Tyler, 3-4, on Friday before bouncing back with a 4-3 victory over Tyler Junior College on Saturday.

The Vulcans took an early lead at the Summers Tennis Center, claiming the doubles point with wins on Courts 1 and 2 before the fourth-ranked Patriots rallied in singles to take the match. Paquet posted a 6-2, 6-3 win on Court 2 over No. 18 Malo Poulesquen, and Iori Furuhata won Court 5 by retirement.

Hawai'i Hilo responded the following day at the JoAnn Medlock Murphy Tennis Center, overcoming a doubles point deficit to win four singles courts. Angel Fonseca opened the singles scoring with a straight-sets win (Court 3), but the Apache took consecutive wins for a 3-1 lead. Max Solano (Court 2), Filippo Di Perna (Court 5) and Furuhata (Court 6) each rallied to win in three sets to help clinch the match.

The Vulcans wrapped up a five-game spring break road trip with a 2-3 record.

NOTES

• Singles Wins vs UT Tyler (March 20):
  • 2: [UHH] J. Paquet def. [UTT] M. Poulesquen – 6-2, 6-3
  • 5: [UHH] I. Furuhata def. [UTT] D. Felker – W (Retirement)
• Doubles Wins vs UT Tyler (March 20):
  • 1: [UHH] A. Fonseca + S. Tintore def. [UTT] D. Felker + C. Wessel – 7-5
  • 2: [UHH] J. Paquet + J. Williams def. [UTT] A. Dorofeev + M. Poulesquen – 7-5
• Singles Wins vs Tyler JC (March 21):
  • 2: [UHH] M. Solano def. [TJC] W. de Waal – 6-1, 3-6, 6-1
  • 3: [UHH] A. Fonseca def. [TJC] E. Franchi – 6-2, 6-3
  • 5: [UHH] F. Di Perna def. [TJC] A. Pardo – 6-7 (6-8), 6-3, 6-1
  • 6: [UHH] I. Furuhata def. [TJC] L. Hickey – 5-7, 6-4, 6-2
• Five-Match Trip Notables (March 16-21):
  • Furuhata: 3-0 singles (No. 20 MSU, No. 4 UTT, TJC); 3-2 doubles (with Solano)
  • Fonseca: 3-2 in singles (UTD, No. 20 MSU, T JC)
  • Solano: 3-1 singles (CAM, MSU, TJC); 3-2 in doubles (with Furuhata)
• Hawaiʻi Hilo: 5-6 Overall
  • Preseason Coaches Poll: No. 5
• No. 4 UT Tyler: 11-3 Overall
  • Tyler, Texas
  • Lone Star Conference
• Tyler Junior College: 9-4 Overall
  • Tyler, Texas
  • NJCAA

UP NEXT

• Saturday, April 4 (3 PM) vs Point Loma (Honolulu, Hawaiʻi)
• Sunday, April 5 (1 PM) vs Colorado Mesa (Honolulu, Hawaiʻi)
• Monday, April 6 vs HPU (Kailua, Hawaiʻi)
• April 15-17 at PacWest Championships (Surprise, Arizona)

PACWEST PRESEASON POLL

Hawaiʻi Hilo was voted No. 5 in the Pacific West Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. The Vulcans finished the 2025 season with a seventh-place finish at the PacWest Championships. The six-team 2026 PacWest Championships will be held April 15-17 at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex in Surprise, Arizona.