RIVERSIDE, Calif.—The University of Hawai'i men's tennis team finished the regular season with a bang, earning its first Big West Conference match since 2014 with a 5-2 victory at UC Riverside on Sunday morning. The Rainbow Warriors won the doubles point to start the day and Felix Albert clinched the match with a straight set win at No. 2 at the SRC Tennis Courts in Riverside, Calif. Hawai'i improved to 2-14 overall and 1-4 in the Big West while the Highlanders fell to 14-20 overall and 0-5 in conference.
 
Hawai'i took the doubles point by winning on the No. 1 and No. 2 courts. UH's No. 1 duo of Albert and Marcel Chan defeated Cooper Bridge and Nabil Abdallah, 6-3. Igor Kolaric and Ruben Blattner earned the doubles point with a 6-3 win over Gilbert Chung and Anderson Ju.
 
The Rainbow Warriors then took that momentum to singles, where the 'Bows won the first three matches to earn the team win. No. 4 Chan dispatched Tadeas Lansky easily, 6-2, 6-1. Hawai'i's No. 1 Kolaric nearly blanked Bridge in the first set and then held off the Highlander by a break to win, 6-1, 6-4. Albert then defeated Kyle McCann in straight sets to clinch the win for the Rainbow Warriors, 6-3, 6-4.
 
It was the first conference win for Hawai'i since the 'Bows defeated UC Irvine on the road, 4-3 on April 18, 2014.
 
Hawai'i will now head to the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, Calif. for the 2017 Big West tournament from Thursday, April 27-Sunday, April 30. The fifth-seeded Rainbow Warriors will open the tourney against No. 4 UC Irvine at 9:00 am on Thursday. UH just fell at UC Irvine last Friday, 2-5, but the 'Bows played hard, taking all six of the singles matches to the third set.


Hawaii 5, UC Riverside 2
Apr 23, 2017 at Riverside, Calif. (SRC Tennis Courts) 

Singles competition

1. Igor Kolaric (UHM) def. Cooper Bridge (UCR) 6-1, 6-4

2. Felix Albert (UHM) def. Kyle McCann (UCR) 6-3, 6-4

3. Fabian Woehrl (UHM) def. Nabil Abdallah (UCR) 3-6, 6-3, 2-2 (7-3)

4. Marcel Chan (UHM) def. Tadeas Lansky (UCR) 6-2, 6-1

5. Gilbert Chung (UCR) def. Spencer Travalino (UHM) 7-6 (7-4), 6-2

6. Anderson Ju (UCR) def. Ruben Blattner (UHM) 6-4, 6-3

 

Doubles competition

1. Felix Albert/Marcel Chan (UHM) def. Cooper Bridge/Nabil Abdallah (UCR) 6-3

2. Igor Kolaric/Ruben Blattner (UHM) def. Gilbert Chung/Anderson Ju (UCR) 6-3

3. Kyle McCann/Max Cohen (UCR) vs. Spencer Travalino/Fabian Woehrl (UHM) 5-6, unfinished

 

Match Notes

Hawaii 2-14, 1-4 BWC

UC Riverside 14-20, 0-5 BWC

Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (4,1,2,5,6,3)