IRVINE, Calif.—The University of Hawai'i women's tennis team captured at least a share of the Big West regular season title and earned the No. 1 seed in the upcoming BWC Championship tournament (April 27-30) with a 6-1 win at UC Irvine on Tuesday morning at the Anteater Tennis Stadium. The Rainbow Wahine improved to 12-6 overall while the Anteaters fell to 3-16 and 0-6 in conference.
Hawai'i is the only unbeaten team left standing at 7-0 in the Big West with just one conference match left on its schedule at Cal State Fullerton. Two teams--Long Beach State (5-1) and UC Santa Barbara (4-1)--are right behind the 'Bows with one loss each coming at the hands of the the Rainbow Wahine. The 49ers still have to play Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara while the Gauchos have a match at UC Riverside before facing off at LBSU. Regardless, Hawai'i is guaranteed the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Big West Championship tournament because UH holds the head-to-head advantage against both LBSU and UCSB. It is the first ever regular season Big West title for the Rainbow Wahine.
The 'Bows won the doubles point to start the match. Hawai'i's No. 3 paring of
Marina Hruba and
Alzbeta Houbova defeated UC Irvine's Cassidy Branstine and Jacqueline Tsodikova, 6-2. The Anteaters evened things at 1-1 with No. 2 Hali Dickson and Vivien Dvali knocking off UH's
Cindy Nguyen and
Klara Pribylova, 6-2. But UH's 77th-ranked duo of
Petra Melounova and
Roxanne Resma secured the doubles point with a 6-3 win over Constance Branstine and Stephanie Hazell on the No. 1 court.
The Rainbow Wahine then won five of the six singles matches for the win. No. 3 Hruba efficiently dispatched Cassidy Branstine, 6-0, 6-0. Hruba improved to 12-3 in dual matches and 5-0 in conference.
Melounova, who rose this week in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings to No. 56, followed with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Constance Branstine on the No. 1 court. Melounova has now won her last 12 decisions (with two matches going unfinished). She improved to 12-1 in dual matches in her rookie season and she is also 5-0 in the Big West.
Michelle Pits fell on the No. 6 court to Tsodikova, 6-4, 6-1, but Resma then clinched the match with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Hazell at No. 4. Resma also improved to 5-0 in Big West matches. Overall she is now 8-8 in dual matches. No. 2 Nguyen held off Dvali in straight setsm, 6-4, 6-3 and
Nikola Dolakova finished the match by coming back after dropping the first set to win in a third set super-tiebreaker over Ashlynn Hall, 2-6, 6-3, 10-5.
The Rainbow Wahine will return home to host its final match of the season against Grand Canyon on Saturday, April 15 at 11:00 a.m. at the UH Tennis Complex. It will be Senior Day for UH's lone senior,
Cindy Nguyen. There will be free pizza to those who come out to cheer on the Rainbow Wahine (while supplies last) and in lieu of bringing lei, Nguyen has asked that fans bring toiletry items for the homeless (i.e. toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss, bandaids, nail clippers, socks, etc.) that they will in turn donate to a local shelter.
Hawai'i 6, UC Irvine 1
Apr 11, 2017 at Irvine, Calif. (Anteater Tennis Stadium)
| Singles competition: Order of finish: 3,1,6,4,2,5 |
| 1. #56 Petra Melounova (UH) def. Constance Branstine (UCI-W) 6-2, 6-2 |
| 2. Cindy Nguyen (UH) def. Vivien Dvali (UCI-W) 6-4, 6-3 |
| 3. Marina Hruba (UH) def. Cassidy Branstine (UCI-W) 6-0, 6-0 |
| 4. Roxanne Resma (UH) def. Stephanie Hazell (UCI-W) 6-4, 6-1 |
| 5. Nikola Dolakova (UH) def. Ashlynn Hall (UCI-W) 2-6, 6-3, 10-5 |
| 6. Jacqueline Tsodikova (UCI-W) def. Michelle Pits (UH) 6-4, 6-1 |
| Match Notes |
| Hawai'i 12-6, 7-0 BWC |
| UC Irvine 3-16, 0-6 BWC |
| Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (3,1,6,4,2,5) |
| T-2:20 |
#HawaiiWTEN
