Box Score

LAS CRUCES, N.M.—The No. 61 University of Hawai`i women's tennis team captured its first ever Western Athletic Conference Championship with a 4-3 win over perennial power No. 51 Fresno State. For the third straight match, the 'Bows were tied at 3-3 with senior Aglae Van den Bergh coming back to win a three-set thriller to send the Rainbow Wahine to their first ever appearance in the NCAA tournament.
 
Hawai`i won the doubles point, 2-1 to start the day. UH's No. 1 duo of Barbara Pinterova and Jamie Pawid held off Fresno State's Laura Pola and Marianne Jodoin, 8-5. But the Bulldogs' combo of Melissa McQueen and Olga Kirpicheva defeated Martina Kostalova and Aglae Van den Bergh, 8-5 on the No. 3 court. Then, Hawai`i's No. 2 team of Katarina Poljakova and Xenia Suworowa captured the important doubles point with a 8-3 win over Aishwarya Agrawal and Bianca Modoc.
 
The 'Bows then jumped out to an early 3-0 lead with No. 3 Pawid defeating Kirpicheva, 6-1, 6-1 and No. 2 Poljakova sweeping Agrawal, 7-5, 6-1. But the defending WAC champions roared back to tie the match at 3-3 with No. 1 Jodoin takng down Pinterova, 6-2, 6-3; No. 4 McQueen defeating Kostalova, 6-3, 6-4; and Modoc coming back to defeat Suworowa on the No. 5 court, 2-6, 6-4, and 6-4.
 
With the match tied at 3-3, it came down to the final match between No. 6 Van den Bergh and Fresno State's Anne Susdorf. Van den Bergh dropped the first set, 6-4 but battled back to take the second set, 7-5. Then with their match tied at one set apiece, Van den Bergh pulled away in the third set, 6-2 to secure the epic win for the Rainbow Wahine and seventh year head coach Jun Hernandez.
 
Fresno State was the defending conference champs and have won eight of the last 11 WAC Championships—including eight straight before 2010. The win snapped Hawai`i's 12-match losing streak to the Bulldogs dating back to 1991.
 
Hawai`i will now return home and await where they will be playing in the NCAA Regionals which will be held on May 11-12 with sites to be determined.



WAC Tournament Women's Championship Match
Hawai`i 14-6; National ranking #61
Fresno State 20-5; National ranking #51
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (3,2,1,4,5,6)

Singles competition
1. Marianne Jodoin (FS) def. Barbara Pinterova (UH) 6-2, 6-3
2. Katarina Poljakova (UH) def. Aishwarya Agrawal (FS) 7-5, 6-1
3. Jamie Pawid (UH) def. Olga Kirpicheva (FS) 6-2, 6-1
4. Melissa McQueen (FS) def. Martina Kostalova (UH) 6-3, 6-4
5. Bianca Modoc (FS) def. Xenia Suworowa (UH) 2-6, 6-4, 6-4
6.. Aglae Van den Bergh (UH) def. Anne Susdorf (FS), 4-6, 7-5, 6-2

Doubles competition
1. Barbara Pinterova/Jamie Pawid (UH) def. Laura Pola/Marianne Jodoin (FS) 8-5
2. Katarina Poljakova/Xenia Suworowa (UH) def. Aishwarya Agrawal/Bianca Modoc (FS) 8-3
3. Melissa McQueen/Olga Kirpicheva (FS) def. Martina Kostalova/Aglae Van den Bergh (UH) 8-5

 
All-Tournament Team
Singles
Victoria Lozano, Idaho
Manon Sylvain, New Mexico State
Martina Kostalova, Hawai'i
Jamie Pawid, Hawai'i
Bianca Modoc, Fresno State
Marianne Jodoin, Fresno State

Doubles
Michelle Okhremchuk and Emma Verberne, Nevada
Barbara Pinterova and Jamie Pawid, Hawai'i
Aishwarya Agrawal and Bianca Modoc, Fresno State