College playoff tennis, anyone?
College playoff tennis, anyone?
UH-Hilo and the Pacific West Conference championships aren’t always a thing – at least not one that is all that noteworthy – but matters are a bit different this season.
The Vulcans men are seeded fourth for the league finals and will face No. 5 Concordia on Thursday in Surprise, Ariz..
Battle-tested UHH, which was No. 7 seed of eight teams last year, will face the Eagles at 6 a.m. Hawaiian time at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Center. If they win, they likely will take on defending national champion and No. 1 seed Hawaii Pacific on Friday at the same time.
Regardless of the outcomes, coach Tina McDermott’s squad will play three total matches in the tournament, either in the Championship bracket or the Consolation bracket.
“This is a big accomplishment for our program,” McDermott said in a school release. “Improving from the seventh seed to the fourth is a big step. The men have worked extremely hard this season and did much better in their conference matches to put themselves in a better position at this tournament.”
No. 1 singles player Vaclav Slezak goes into the tournament with a 17-4 record and No. 5 on the ladder, Bruno Figlia is 15-5. The No. 2 doubles tandem of Figlia and Alex Fillat Perez is 16-4 this season.
The Vulcans go into the tournament with an 11-10 record. They have won three out of their last four matches, which includes a 6-3 win over Concordia on March 31. In that match against the Eagles, UHH split the singles matches but swept the doubles column to take the win. Concordia will come to Arizona with an 11-8 overall record.
Hawaii Pacific is currently ranked sixth in the nation and dealt UH Hilo 7-2 and 8-1 verdicts earlier this year.
“The men had a tough schedule of 22 matches this season, of which 20 were on the road,” McDermott added. “They fought through injuries and continued to improve as the season progressed. I believe they became more match ready, determined and stronger as a team with such a vigorous schedule.”
Cal Baptist beats Vuls
Cal Baptist collected seven doubles among its 16 hits to open a four-game series against UH-Hilo with a 11-4 victory in Riverside, Calif.
Eric Vega (1-3) labored through five innings and allowed 13 hits. He was charged with 11 runs (eight earned) with three walks and four strikeouts.
PacWest batting leader Phillip Steering went 2 for 4 with the double and scored twice for the Vulcans (8-21, 8-19). Dylan Sugimoto and Grijalva each had two hits and Byron Freitas hit an RBI double.
The Lancers (27-15, 18-10) have won 10 in a row against UH-Hilo heading in Thursday’s game. A Friday doubleheader follows