MALIBU, Calif.—The University of Hawai'i men's tennis team began action in the ITA Southwest Regionals hosted by Pepperdine at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center and the Crest Tennis Courts. Blaz Seric led the Rainbow Warriors on the opening day of the Regional, winning both his singles matches to advance to the Round of 32.
 
In singles, four of UH's seven players advanced out of the Round of 128. Seric swept Grand Canyon's Justin Cvitanovic, 6-4, 6-2. Hawai'i's rookie Andre Ilagan defeated Loyola Marymount's Max Kaiser in three sets-, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4. UH's Tristan Martin held off Scotland Garapedian from Pepperdine in straight sets, edging out his opponent in a second set tiebreaker, 6-4, 7-6 (9). Hawai'i's Chia-Hua Lu came back from being a set down to defeat LMU's Ryan Brown in three sets, 2-6, 6-4, 7-5.
 
In the Round of 64 singles, Seric was the lone Rainbow Warrior left standing after recording his second sweep of the day. He took the first set by a break, and the second in a tiebreaker over Jack Jaede from USC, 6-4, 7-6 (4). In the other Round of 64 matches, Ilagan took the first set over Filip Malbasic from Arizona, but could not hold on in the final two sets, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2. UH's Martin fell to USC's Jake DeVine, 6-1, 6-4 while Lu dropped his match in straight sets to Luis Lopez of UC Irvine, 6-3, 6-4.
 
In doubles play, two of UH's pairing advanced to the Round of 32. UH's duo of Ilagan and Labrunie opened with an 8-5 win over UC Santa Barbara's Wilhelm Saiga and Alex Soto. But, Ilagan and Labrunie fell in the next round, to Lorenzo Fucile and Mathieu Rajasonah of Grand Canyon, 8-5. UH's Lu and Kenneth combined to cruise past Cal Poly's Cambell Nakayama and Karapet Vardanyan, 8-2. But Lu and Kenneth fell in the Round of 32 to Anders Holm and Nicolas Moreno De Alboran of UC Santa Barbara, 8-3.

On Friday, Seric will continue in the ITA Southwest Regionals Round of 32 against Cal Poly's Josh Ortlip at 10:00 am. Lucas Labrunie and Eric Kenneth will compete in the Consolation Bracket, but Asad Siyyid will default due to injury.

ITA Southwest Regional
Malibu, Calif. (Hosted by Pepperdine)
 
Singles Results
Round of 128
Andre Ilagan (UH) vs. Max Kaiser (LMU), 6-2, 5-7, 6-4
Tristan Martin (UH) def. Scotland Garapedian (Pepp), 6-4, 7-6 (9)
Chia-Hua Lu (UH) def. Ryan Brown (LMU), 2-6, 6-4, 7-5
Mike Mkrtchian (UCI) def. Lucas Labrunie (UH), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
Blaz Seric (UH) def. Justin Cvitanovic (GCU), 6-4, 6-2
Lucas Grego (GCU) def. Asad Siyyid (UH), 2-6, 6-1, 6-0.
Nicholas Baez (Pepp) def. Eric Kenneth (UH), 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
 
Round of 64
Filip Malbasic (UA) def. Andre Ilagan (UH) 4-6, 6-2, 6-2
Jake DeVine (USC) def. Tristan Martin (UH), 6-1, 6-4
Luis Lopez (UCI) def. Chia-Hua Lu (UH), 6-3, 6-4
Blaz Seric (UH) def. Jack Jaede (USC), 6-4, 7-6 (4)
 
Doubles Results
Round of 64
Andre Ilagan/Lucas Labrunie (UH) def. Wilhelm Saiga/Alex Soto (UCSB), 8-5
Chia-Hua Lu/Eric Kenneth (UH) def. Cambell Nakayama/Karapet Vardanyan (CP), 8-2
Lukas Moenter/Lucas Moreno (LMU) def. Blaz Seric/Asad Siyyid, 8-7
 
Round of 32
Lorenzo Fucile/Mathieu Rajasonah (GCU) def. Andre Ilagan/Lucas Labrunie (UH), 8-5
Anders Holm/Nicolas Moreno De Alboran (UCSB) def. Chia-Hua Lu/Eric Kenneth (UH), 8-3