UH-Hilo’s rapid rise this season hasn’t come without its slow points, and men’s tennis coach Tina McDermott wouldn’t have it any other way.
No ascension to the Division II penthouse would be complete without a few stops to recalibrate.
“Nearly every match we have played this year has been tough,” McDermott said in release. “That was in some ways by design. We have proven to be match-tough, and our preparation all year long in practice and matches have brought us to this point. “
The Vulcans have been there before, but not quite like this. UHH (16-2) seeks what is thought to be the program’s second trip to the NCAA championships when it takes on Point Loma (14-9) in the West Regionals at 2 p.m. Monday at Holua Tennis Center.
“The guys are hungry and won’t be satisfied with anything short of getting back to Arizona and playing for a national championship,” McDermott said.
One of the tough matches she eluded to this season came in late March when the Vuls, seeded second in the West, beat Point Loma 6-3 in San Diego behind a sweep of the doubles matches.
The Sea Lions’ ace Thomas Dafcik took out Vulcans No. 1 Vaclav Slezak in straight sets, but UHH got wins at Nos. 2-4 from Alessandro Giuliato (16-2), Chun En Wu (10-4) and Alex Fillat Perez (10-6). No. 6 Gregory Zukeran (8-4) didn’t play in the match.
Slezak is 13-4 in singles and combines with Giuliato to form a No. 1 doubles duo that is 15-3 on the year.
If the Vuls are to get off to another strong start in doubles Monday, they’ll also likely turn to duos Fillat Perez/Bruno Figlia (12-6) and Zukeran/Wu (15-3) on court 3.
While this is Point Loma’s first NCAA tournament berth, the Vuls have just a tad more history on their side.
“I think we qualified one other time, in the late 1990’s,” Kula Oda, former head coach and current associate athletic director, said. “We have been in this regional a few times, but not with a record as good as this current team has.”
The winner advances to the 16-team nationals at Surprise Tennis and Racquet Center in Arizona – site of where the Vuls finished runner-up during the PacWest championships – May 9-12.