INDIAN WELLS, Calif.—The fourth-seeded University of Hawai'i women's tennis team defeated No. 5 Long Beach State, 4-1 in the quarterfinals of the Big West Tournament on Friday morning. Hawai'i advances to face No. 1 UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, April 28 at 6:30 a.m. HT at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Overall, UH improves to 11-6 on the season, while LBSU fell to 11-10.
 
The Rainbow Wahine fought hard to edge out the 49ers for the doubles point to start the match. UH was playing with a slightly different lineup with Petra Melounova and Roxanne Resma playing at No. 1 and Nikola Dolakova and Klara Pribylova shifting to No. 2. LBSU's No. 2 team of Lena Pacholski and Sadaf Sadeghvaziri opened the day with a 6-3 win over Dolakova and Pribylova. But  UH's No. 3 duo of Marina Hruba and Alzbeta and Houbova held off Carlota Casacampere and Georgia Gulin, 6-4 to even things at 1-1. Hawai'i then captured the doubles point on the No. 1 court with Melounova and Resma earning a 7-5 win over Natalia Munoz and Lalita Devarakonda.
 
In singles, 80^th-ranked Melounova kept things going, winning her sixth-straight match with a 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 1 over Pacholski. Hruba followed with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Maren Helgo at No. 3, 6-3, 6-1 to give UH a 3-0 lead. Long Beach State's No. 6 Casasampere pulled away from UH's Resma, 6-2, 6-1. But No. 5 Michelle Pits then clinched the match with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Sadeghvaziri.
 
It marked UH's fourth-straight win. Hawai'i will now take on their conference foe, UC Santa Barbara. The 'Bows defeated the Gauchos last month in Santa Barbara on March 30, 4-2.

2018 Big West Women's Tennis Tournament Quarterfinals
Hawaii 4, Long Beach State 1
Apr 27, 2018 at Indian Wells, CA
(Indian Wells Tennis Garden)

Singles competition
1. Petra Melounova (UH) def. Lena Pacholski (LBSU) 6-2, 6-3
2. Nikola Dolakova (UH) vs. Natalia Munoz (LBSU) 6-1, 2-6, 1-0, unfinished
3. Marina Hruba (UH) def. Maren Helgo (LBSU) 6-3, 6-1
4. Klara Pribylova (UH) vs. Lalita Devarakonda (LBSU) 6-3, 3-4, unfinished
5. Michelle Pits (UH) def. Sadaf Sadeghvaziri (LBSU) 6-3, 6-3
6. Carlota Casasampere (LBSU) def. Roxanne Resma (UH) 6-2, 6-1

Doubles competition
1. Petra Melounova/Roxanne Resma (UH) def. Natalia Munoz/Lalita Devarakonda (LBSU) 7-5
2. Lena Pacholski/Sadaf Sadeghvaziri (LBSU) def. Klara Pribylova/Nikola Dolakova (UH) 6-3
3. Marina Hruba/Alzbeta Houbova (UH) def. Carlota Casasampere/Georgia Gulin (LBSU) 6-4

Match Notes:
Long Beach State 11-10
Hawaii 11-6
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (1,3,6,5)
T-2:20