BOISE, Idaho - The Hawai`i women's tennis team defeated Louisiana Tech, 4-0, Thursday morning, in the play-in match of the Western Athletic Conference Championship, at Boise Racquet and Swim Club. The Rainbow Wahine advance to the quarterfinals, where they will face top-seed and four-time defending WAC champion Fresno State, later today at 3:30 p.m. MDT at the Appleton Tennis Center.

UH (4-17-1), seeded eighth in the tournament, easily captured the doubles point as the teams of Chloe Bihag-Florence Wasko and Samanta Cappella-Julia Sandborn won their respective matches at the Nos. 2 and 3 courts, 8-2 and 8-1.

With a 1-0 lead heading into singles action, the Rainbow Wahine didn't have much trouble as Bihag, Jacqui Williams, and Wasko closed out the match with convincing wins. Wasko dominated her match against Noel Camel, 6-0, 6-0 at the No. 6 court, while Williams dropped only one game in her 6-1, 6-0 victory over Alex Gaspar at court three. Bihag put the finishing touches on a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Monica Kelly at No. 1, for the match clincher.

Next up for the Rainbow Wahine is Fresno State, ranked No. 23 nationally. The Bulldogs feature the nation's fourth-ranked doubles team of seniors Lucia Sainz and Katharina Winterhalter and the 21st-ranked singles player in freshman Melanie Gloria.

Match Results
Hawai`i def. Louisiana Tech, 4-0
Doubles (UH wins doubles point)
1. Aikawa/Williams vs. Kelly/Martinez (LTU), DNF
2. Bihag/Wasko def. Camel/Gaspar (LTU), 8-2
3. Cappella/Sandborn def. Makowska/Tran (LTU), 8-1

Singles (each match worth one team point)
1. Chloe Bihag def. Monica Kelly (LTU), 6-1, 6-2
2. Kana Aikawa vs. Avril Martinez (LTU), DNF
3. Jacqui Williams def. Alex Gaspar (LTU), 6-1, 6-0
4. Samanta Cappella vs. Adriana Makowska (LTU), DNF
5. Julia Sandborn vs. Carolina Tran (LTU), DNF
6. Florence Wasko def. Noel Camel (LTU), 6-0, 6-0

-UH-