Men's Bracket
Women's Bracket
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL

HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i hosts the 2009 WAC Tennis Championships, April 23-26, at the UH Tennis Complex. A total of 16 teams—nine women's and seven men's—will descend on the UH campus to determine this year's men's and women's champions and automatic entries into the NCAA Tournament.

 

The tournament begins with a full slate of women's matches on Thursday. There will be five matches total, with the first match beginning at 9:00 a.m. The Rainbow Wahine, who earned a No. 4 seed, will open the tournament against No. 5 New Mexico State at 3:00 p.m. Hawai'i (12-12, 4-3 WAC) will look to beat New Mexico State for the second straight match as the Rainbow Wahine swept the Aggies, 7-0, in its regular-season finale Sunday in Las Cruces, N.M.

 

Junior Sophie Kobuch leads the Rainbow Wahine with a 17-12 overall record, mainly at the No. 1 and 2 positions. Freshman Anja-Vanessa Peter is second on the team with a 15-13 overall record. Kobuch and Peter have both won two of their last three singles dual matches.

 

Last year, UH lost to New Mexico State in the first round of the 2008 WAC Championships, 4-1, in Las Cruces, and will look for its first WAC Tournament win since beating Louisiana Tech in a 2006 first-round match. The top two seeds in this year's tournament are nationally ranked with Fresno State at No. 15 and Boise State at No. 36. The Bulldogs (19-5, 8-0) are the prohibitive favorites with three nationally ranked singles players and the top ranked doubles tandem in the country.

 

Men's action begins on Friday with the Warriors (7-9, 4-2 WAC) looking for their second straight WAC title. Hawai'i made program history last year with its first-ever WAC Tournament championship and subsequent NCAA Tournament bid. The Warriors, seeded No. 3, will open this year's tournament with a quarterfinal matchup versus 6th-seeded Idaho on Friday, April 24 at 3:00 p.m. UH swept Idaho earlier this season on April 4, 7-0, in Fresno, Calif.

 

Dennis Lajola, ranked No. 89 in the latest ITA singles rankings, owns a 16-8 overall singles record, primarily at the No. 1 position. Last week, the sophomore from 'Aiea, O'ahu, upset USC's Robert Farah, the No. 4 player in the country. Senior Sascha Heinemann has been on fire lately, winning his last 10 singles matches and now has a team best 17-8 overall record.

 

If the Warriors are to repeat as champions, they will likely need to defeat a pair of nationally ranked squads.  No. 1 seed Boise State is the highest ranked team at No. 19 and will enjoy a bye before playing in the semifinals on Saturday. Also nationally ranked are No. 2 seed Fresno State at No. 46 and No. 4 seed Nevada at No. 66.

 

UH last hosted the WAC Tennis Championships in 2005 with both the men and women falling in the quarterfinals. Follow all the day's action live at the WAC Championships website.

 

9:00 a.m. – (8) San Jose State vs. (9) Louisiana Tech

Noon – (3) Nevada vs. (6) Idaho

Noon – (2) Boise State vs. (7) Utah State

3:00 p.m. – (1) Fresno State vs. SJSU-La Tech winner

 

9:00 a.m. – (4) Nevada vs. (5) New Mexico State

Noon – (2) Fresno State vs. (7) Utah State

Noon – Women's semifinal match

3:00 p.m. – Women's semifinal match

 

9:00 a.m. – Men's semifinal match – (1) Boise State vs. Nevada-NMSU winner

Noon – Women's championship match

3:00 p.m. – Men's semifinal match

 

Noon – Men's championship match

 

Tickets for the 2009 WAC Tennis Championship can be purchased as either an all-session pass or as single-session tickets. Tickets may be purchased at the UH Tennis Complex on the first day of competition, April 23. Prices are as follows:

 

Adults $12

Child $7 

 

Adults $4

Child $2