Posted with permission, article and pictures, courtesy of Hawaii Pacific University
ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – The No. 10 Hawai’i Pacific University women swept their way to the Elite Eight on Tuesday, opening the 2022 NCAA Division II Tennis Championships with a 4-0 victory over No. 53 West Virginia State in the round of 16 at Sanlando Park.
The No. 10 Sharks (17-8), seeded fifth in the national bracket, wasted little time in taking the doubles point from the Yellowjackets (14-8), then taking the top two singles positions and clinching with the No. 5 spot.
The Sharks welcomed back Shaline Pipa to join with Marleen Tilgner to reform the ninth ranked doubles duo, to sweep the No. 1 doubles position 6-0 over Gaya Solomon and Chante Malo. The No. 2 pair of Elodie Busson and Mihoki Miyahara beat Maya Haidari and Emily Moore 6-1, with the No. 3 duo of Valentina Mokrova and Marta Ruszczynska ahead of Lea Rolland and Julia Daszkiewicz 5-1 when the point was won.
Pipa did not play in singles, advancing the singles lineup. It didn’t affect the Sharks for this match.
Tilgner, ranked 20th nationally and playing No. 2 in this match, shutout Malo 6-0, 6-0 to make it 2-0, with 34th ranked Busson, playing at No. 1, beat Solomon 6-1, 6-3 to go up 3-0. It was Ruszczynska, playing up at No. 5, that got the clinching point downing Rolland 6-2, 6-2.
In the unfinished spots, Mokrova led Julieta Beltramino 6-3, 4-1 when play was halted, while Miyahara at No. 3 was up over Haidari 6-4, 0-3, and Rikona Murakami, inserted at No. 6, led Daszkiewicz 6-2, 0-3.
The Sharks move on to the Elite Eight on Wednesday to face No. 2 Nova Southeastern (24-3), the fourth seeded team in the tournament. The quarterfinal match is slated for 10 a.m. at Sanlando Park.
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