Posted with permission, article and pictures, courtesy of University of Hawaii Hilo

KAILUA, O’ahu– The UH Hilo men’s tennis team capped their season with a valiant effort in a losing cause at the Kailua Racquet Club against No. 4 Hawai’i Pacific in the DII NCAA West Regionals, 4-1. 

The Vulcans dropped the doubles point, thus beginning the match 0-1. UH Hilo has only won the doubles point against the Sharks once out of the four times they faced one another this season.

Alessio Demichelis evened the score on the second court with a 6-1, 6-3 win over HPU’s Jan Pleva, but domino losses on courts 3-4-5 left the match in Hawai’i Pacific’s favor.

The square off between the second and fifth best players’ in the nation (according to ITA) on court one was once again left unfinished. Martin Soukal played his last match as a Vulcan and Jordi Walder (HPU) still holds the nudge with his one win against Soukal that happened in the very beginning of the season. Soukal ends the season with a 14-2 singles record. 

The Vulcans finished the season 9-10 under the leadership of fourth-year head coach Kallen Mizuguchi. Hawai`i Pacific moves on to the national championship tournament in Florida with a 17-2 record. 

NCAA West Regionals
#4 Hawai’i Pacific 4, #41 Hawai’i Hilo 1
Kailua Racquet Club, Kailua, O’ahu

Singles competition
1. #2 Jordi Walder (HPU) vs #5 Martin Soukal (UHH) 6-4, 5-3, UNF. 
2. #71 Alessio Demichelis (UHH) def. Jan Pleva (HPU) 6-1, 6-3. 
3. #29 Robin Sanz (HPU) def. Luca Checchia (UHH) 6-2, 6-1. 
4. Jakub Beran (HPU) def. Luca Matheiowetz (UHH) 6-3, 6-1.
5. Benjamin Loccisano (HPU) def. Agustin Gentile (UHH) 6-2, 6-2.
6. Ryohei Arai (HPU) def. Joshua Liu (UHH) 6-3, 2-1, UNF.
Order of Finish: 2-5-3-4

Doubles competition
1. Beran/Sanz (HPU) vs. Soukal/Luke Hamano (UHH), 2-5, UNF.
2. Walder/Jan Heine (HPU) def. Liu/Checchia (UHH), 6-3. 
3. Pleva/Loccisano (HPU) def. Demichelis/Matheiowetz (UHH), 6-1. 
Order of Finish: 3-2

Records
Hawai’i Pacific 17-2, Hawai’i Hilo 9-10