HONOLULU - University of Hawai`i seniors Kana Aikawa, Florence Wasko, and Samanta Cappella led the Rainbow Wahine to a 6-1 women's tennis victory over NCAA Division II power Hawai`i Pacific, Sunday afternoon, at the UH Tennis Complex. The match was the regular season finale for the Rainbow Wahine (6-16), who next travels to the Western Athletic Conference Championship in Boise, Idaho, later this week.

The Rainbow Wahine used gutsy efforts by Aikawa and freshman Julia Hodes, who both gutted out three-set wins despite suffering from various ailments. With UH holding a 3-1 advantage in the team score and needing only one more win to capture the match, each of the final three singles contests went deep into the third set.

Hobbling on one leg, Hodes clinched the deciding point with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win over Elena Hudzikova at court two. At the No. 6 court, Wasko wrapped up her three-set win over Lauren Shin, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4. Playing in her final match at the UH Tennis Complex, Aikawa battled cramps and a feisty Ingrid Cseh at the featured court before pulling out a spirited 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-2 win.

Also playing her final home match was Cappella, who had little trouble with Asako Nishikawa, 6-2, 6-1 at court six. Prior to singles play, UH swept all three doubles matches, including Wasko and Chloe Bihag, who rallied from a 6-2 deficit for a 9-8 tie-break win over Shin and Bigom at No. 2.

The Lady Sea Warriors, ranked 20th in the ITA Division II national rankings, got their only win from Tinka Mihova over Bihag, 7-5, 6-0, at court four.

The Rainbow Wahine will await word on their seeding for the WAC Championship on Monday. Their opening round match is scheduled for Thursday, April 26.

Match Results
Hawai`i def. Hawai`i Pacific, 6-1
Doubles (UH wins doubles point)
1. Hodes/Kobuch def. Cseh/Hudzikova (HPU), 8-5
2. Bihag/Wasko def. Bigom/Shin (HPU), 9-8 (1)
3. Aikawa/Julia Sandborn def. Mihova/Nishikawa (HPU), 8-4
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2

Singles (each match worth one team point)
1. Kana Aikawa def. Ingrid Cseh (HPU), 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-2
2. Julia Hodes def. Elena Hudzikova (HPU), 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
3. Sophie Kobuch def. Stephanie Bigom (HPU), 6-0, 6-4
4. Tinka Mihova (HPU) def. Chloe Bihag, 7-5, 6-0
5. Florence Wasko def. Lauren Shin (HPU), 6-2, 3-6, 6-4
6. Samanta Cappella def. Asako Nishikawa (HPU), 6-2, 6-1
Order of finish: 6, 3, 4, 2, 5, 1

-UH-