INDIAN WELLS, Calif.—The University of Hawai'i men's tennis team opens the 2018 Big West Tennis Championships on Thursday, April 26 at 6:00 a.m. HT. The Rainbow Warriors are seeded at No. 5 and will take on No. 4 UC Irvine in the first round.
 
The Anteaters swept the 'Bows in a hard fought regular season match on April 11 earlier this month in Irvine, Calif. But UH was without senior Felix Albert. Hawai'i finished the regular season with an overall 3-14 record and a 2-3 conference mark. Last season, Hawai'i and UC Irvine met in the First Round as well.
 
Last season, Hawai'i faced UCI last year in the same scenario at Big West tournament. UH entered as the five seed and UCI as the four seed. The Anteaters won last year's first round match, 4-0. Hawai'i is 1-5 all-time in the BWC Championship.
 
This season, the 'Bows are led once again by Albert who is 5-8 in singles at the No. 2 slot. He has won his last two matches.  In doubles, Albert is 3-8 overall with three different partners. Most recently, he and Blaz Seric notched a win to help UH capture the doubles point at UC Riverside.
 
Rookie Aleksa Lazarevic has also recorded five singles wins and has a 5-9 record going 5-5 on the No. 4 court. Lucas Labrunie is right behind with a 4-11 overall record.
 
2018 Big West Men's Tennis Championship
First Round Match: #4 UC Irvine vs. #5 Hawai'i
Date: Thursday, April 26, 2018 at 6:00 a.m. HT
Site: Indian Wells Tennis Garden (Indian Wells, Calif.)
Live stats: Live in-match stats will be available at HawaiiAthletics.com