SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA – Hawai'i Hilo Men's Tennis went 2-1 on its California road trip picking up victories over Westmont, 4-2, on Thursday and Menlo, 6-1, on Friday before falling to Azusa Pacific, 7-0, on Saturday.

Westmont took the doubles point, but the Vulcans rallied in singles to secure the match with wins on Courts 1, 2, 5 and 6. Jaime Paquet held off a tough three-set battle on Court 1 to clinch the victory.

On Friday, the Vulcans won the doubles point on the deciding Court 1 (Jaden Williams and David Krnavek) then rattled off singles wins on Courts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 to cruise to the 6-1 victory. Filippo Di Perna gutted out a three-set win on Court 4 while Max Solano rallied from a first-set tie-break loss to take Court 2 in three sets as well.

Paquet and Solano each went 2-1 on the trip winning on Courts 1 and 2, respectively, in both the Westmont and Menlo victories.

NOTES

• Singles Wins vs Westmont (March 5):
  • 1: [UHH] J. Paquet def. [WC] R. Matias – 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-0
  • 2: [UHH] M. Solano def. [WC] D. De Cooman – 6-4, 6-4
  • 5: [UHH] M. Wehner def. [WC] Z. Steinberg – 6-3, 6-4
  • 6: [UHH] D. Krnavek def. [WC] S. Maharana – 6-2, 0-6, 6-4
• Singles Wins vs Menlo (March 6):
  • 1: [UHH] J. Paquet def. [MC] R. McAlpine – 6-3, 6-4
  • 2: [UHH] M. Solano def. [MC] A. Ildor – 6-7 (6-8), 7-5, 6-4
  • 3: [UHH] A. Fonseca def. [MC] H. Riccioni-Brown – 6-4, 7-6 (7-1)
  • 4: [UHH] F. Di Perna def. [MC] D. Navarro – 6-1, 3-6, 7-5
  • 6: [UHH] I. Furuhata def. [MC] R. Pelluault – 6-3, 6-4
• Doubles Wins vs Menlo (March 6):
  • 1: [UHH] J. Williams + D. Krnavek def. [MC] A. Ildor + I. Perez – 7-6 (7-5)
  • 3: [UHH] M. Solano + I. Furuhata def. [MC] T. Forger + E. Moghaddam – 6-3
• Doubles Wins vs Azusa Pacific (March 7):
  • 3: [UHH] M. Solano + I. Furuhata def. [APU] J. Crespo + C. Marci – 6-3
• Hawai'i Hilo: 4-3 Overall
  • Preseason Coaches Poll: No. 5
• Westmont: 6-5 Overall
  • Santa Barbara, California
  • Preseason Coaches Poll: No. 8
• Menlo: 3-4 Overall
  • Atherton, California
  • Preseason Coaches Poll: No. 7
• Azusa Pacific: 10-4 Overall
  • Azusa, California
  • Preseason Coaches Poll: No. 1

UP NEXT

• Monday, March 16 vs UT Dallas (Richardson, Texas)
• Tuesday, March 17 vs Cameron (Lawton, Oklahoma)
• Wednesday, March 18 vs Midwestern State (Wichita Falls, Texas)
• Friday, March 20 vs UT Tyler (Tyler, Texas)
• Saturday, March 21 vs Tyler Junior College (Tyler, Texas)

PACWEST PRESEASON POLL

Hawai'i Hilo was voted No. 5 in the Pacific West Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. The Vulcans finished the 2025 regular season at No. 10 in the conference standings with a seventh-place finish at the PacWest Championships. The 2026 PacWest Championships will be held April 15-17 at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex in Surprise, Arizona.