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The University of Hawai'i women's tennis will make its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament by competing in the First and Second Rounds at Northwestern University, which runs Friday, May 11 and Saturday, May 12 at the Vandy Christie Tennis Center in Evanston, Ill. The Rainbow Wahine will open play against No. 18 Notre Dame at 11:00 a.m. CT (6:00 a.m. HT) Friday followed by host No. 11 Northwestern versus Akron at 2:00 p.m. CT (9:00 a.m. HT).
 
The winners will play Saturday at 12:00 p.m. CT (7:00 a.m. HT).
 
Hawai'i (15-6) earned an automatic bid into the 64-team tournament by winning its first Western Athletic Conference Tournament two weeks ago in Las Cruces, N.M. The Rainbow Wahine won all three matches in the tournament with identical 4-3 scores, including the championship match over No. 51 Fresno State, in which senior Aglae Van den Bergh secured the title with a come-from-behind three-set victory at the No. 6 court.
 
UH and Notre Dame (20-7) have already met once this season with the Fighting Irish winning 6-1, March 14 in Honolulu. Hawai'i's only win was at No. 6, where Van den Bergh defeated Katherine White in three sets. However, the other five singles matches were close, including at No. 1, where UND's Shannon Mathews beat Barbara Pinterova in three sets.
 
Notre Dame leads the all-time series between the schools 5-0, which also includes a 7-0 victory, March 7, 2009 in Honolulu. Among the other participating teams, UH and Northwestern have met twice with the Wildcats winning both meetings including 7-0, March 23, 2007 at the UH Tennis Complex. Hawai'i and Akron have never met.
 
Match Notes
What: NCAA Women's Tennis Regional Championship
Where: Vandy Christie Tennis Center; Evanston, Ill.
Schedule:
            Friday, May 11 - First Round
            11:00 a.m. CT (6:00 a.m. HT): No. 61 Hawai'i vs. No. 18 Notre Dame
            2:00 p.m. CT (9:00 a.m. HT): No. 11 Northwestern vs. Akron
            Saturday, May 12 - Second Round
            12:00 p.m. CT (7:00 a.m. HT): First Round Winners
 
Series vs. Notre Dame: The Rainbow Wahine and Fighting Irish have met five times, including Notre Dame's 6-1 victory in March during UH's 11-match homestand at the UH Tennis Complex. Four of the five meetings in the series have occurred in Honolulu, including the teams' first match-up in 1984, which Notre Dame won 5-4.
 
Previous Meetings vs. Notre Dame
Date                 W/L     Score    Site     
April 5, 1984        L         4-5      Honolulu
April 15, 1997      L         0-9      South Bend, Ind.
Jan. 11, 2000       L         0-9      Honolulu
March 7, 2008      L         0-7      Honolulu
March 14, 2012    L         1-6      Honolulu
 
Series vs. Northwestern: The Rainbow Wahine and Wildcats have met twice - in 1984 and 2007, both Northwestern shutout victories.
 
Previous Meetings vs. Northwestern
Date                 W/L     Score     Site     
April 2, 1984        L         0-9       Evanston, Ill.
March 23, 2007    L         0-7       Honolulu
 
Head Coach Jun Hernandez: In his seventh season as head coach of the Rainbow Wahine tennis program, Rogelio “Jun” Hernandez has guided the program to a number of firsts in 2011-12. Hernandez has compiled a 64-98 record in since taking over the Rainbow Wahine in 2006. He is the program's eighth head coach and ranks second in wins and tenure. Prior to UH, Hernandez coached the California men's and women's teams for six and a half seasons while the Golden Bears were regular participants in the NCAA Tournament, including a semifinal appearance by the women's team in 2000.
 
2011-12 Highlights
- UH is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance.
- UH won its first WAC Tournament and advanced to its first WAC championship match.
- UH is nationally ranked for the first time in school history.
- UH secured its first WAC Freshman of the Year and this year marked the first time two singles players were named to the all-WAC first team.
 
Postseason Play: Although UH will be making its first trip to the NCAA Tournament, postseason play is nothing new to the women's tennis program. Hawai'i made back-to-back trips to the AIAW Regionals in 1980 in Santa Barbara, Calif., and 1981 in Tempe, Ariz., under head coach Jim Schwitters.
 
Breakthrough Season: Winners of their last nine matches, the Rainbow Wahine are currently 15-6 and will finish the season with their first winning record in 13 years. The last time UH posted a winning record was during the 1998-99 season with a 22-12 mark under head coach Jim Schwitters. Now in his seventh season, current head coach Jun Hernandez helped guide the Rainbow Wahine to snap a nine-year drought of losing seasons when his 2008-09 squad finished with a 13-13 record.
 
Recapping the WAC Tournament: The Rainbow Wahine pulled out three 4-3 wins during the WAC Tournament in Las Cruces, N.M., all of which came down to the deciding point. UH opened the tourney with a win over Nevada in the quarterfinals, in which freshman Martina Kostalova provided the clincher with a come-from-behind win at No. 4, in a match that was suspended until the next morning due to inclement weather. Kostalova saved UH again in the semifinals against Idaho, with another come-from-behind win and secured UH's first championship match appearance. The Rainbow Wahine led 3-0 against Fresno State in the title match before the Bulldogs scored three straight singles win. In the deciding match, Aglae Van den Bergh rallied for a three-set win at No. 6 giving UH its first-ever WAC title.
 
WAC Accolades For UH Trio: Three Rainbow Wahine were selected to the all-WAC teams as selected by the league's eight head coaches. Jamie Pawid became the first Rainbow Wahine to be named Freshman of the Year as well as first-team all-WAC in doubles and second-team all-WAC in singles, playing primarily at the No. 3 court. Senior Barbara Pinterova earned first-team all-WAC in doubles with Pawid and received first-team honors in singles at No. 1. Junior Katarina Poljakova earned first-team all-WAC honors in singles for the second straight year primarily at No. 2.
 
Versus Nationally Ranked Teams: UH has played seven nationally ranked teams this season and boasts a 3-4 record. Hawai'i has wins over No. 56 UC Irvine (W, 4-3), No. 59 Wyoming (W, 6-1), and No. 51 Fresno State (W, 4-3). UH's four losses were against teams ranked in the Top 20 – No. 6 Baylor (L, 2-5), No. 14 Michigan (L, 2-4), No. 19 Notre Dame (L, 1-6), and No. 20 Texas Tech (L, 1-6). This week's sub-regional includes No. 18 Notre Dame and No. 11 Northwestern.
 
First Time For Everything: UH made its first-ever appearance in the ITA national rankings emerging at No. 74 in the Feb. 16 ranking and ascending to a season-high No. 52 two weeks later. The Rainbow Wahine have remained in the rankings for nine consecutive weeks and enter this week's NCAA Tournament at No. 61 (as of April 24 ranking).
 
Fast Starts: During its nine-match win streak, the Rainbow Wahine have won seven of eight doubles points (did not play in one match). During that stretch, the No. 3 team of Aglae Van den Bergh and Martina Kostalova are 7-1 including a seven-match win streak which was snapped in the WAC title match vs. Fresno State. Overall, UH is 10-9 on the season in double points and have swept all three matches six times.
 
Climbing the Singles Charts: Junior Katarina Poljakova currently ranks No. 23 all-time in school history with 48 career singles victories. Since her freshman season in 2009-10, the Vysoke Tatry, Slovakia native has compiled a 48-35 record, including a 16-13 record this season primarily at the No. 2 court. Poljakova was 19-11 last season and 13-11 as a freshman. In addition, she has a career doubles record of 42-35, including a 16-13 mark this season.
 
Freshmen Sensations: Freshman Jamie Pawid and Martina Kostalova are not your average freshmen. Pawid, a Castro Valley, Calif., native, and Kostalova, of Vysoke Tatry, Slovakia, are tied for the team-lead with 21 singles victories. Pawid has a 16-5 dual match record, including a dominant 15-3 mark at the No. 3 court, and has won her last nine matches dating back to March 15. Kostalova has a 14-7 dual match record including 10-5 at No. 4, which includes two match-clinching wins during the WAC Tournament. In doubles action, Pawid has played the entire season at No. 1 with either Katarina Poljakova and Barbara Pinterova, the latter of whom she's teamed up to for an 8-5 mark. Kostalova has a team-leading 17 doubles victories, 14 of which with Aglae Van den Bergh.