HONOLULU--The University of Hawai'i men's tennis team was edged out by Duke in the season opener, 4-1 on Wednesday night. The match started five hours late due to inclement weather and the two teams endured three lengthy rain delays at the UH Tennis Complex. It marked the first match under first year head coach Joël Kusnierz.

Due to the rainy and blustery conditions, the teams started with singles. Hawai'i's No. 1 Andre Ilagan notched Hawai'i's lone win for the day with a solid, straight-set win over Luca Keist, 6-1, 7-6 (6). Ilagan cruised to take the first set, 6-1. But the second set was a tough, see-saw battle. Keist held the early lead at 4-2, but Ilagan won three straight games to take a 5-4 lead. Keist then went back ahead 6-5 and Ilagan then forced a tiebreaker after tying the set at  6-6. Ilagan pulled ahead late to capture the win, 8-6 in the second set tiebreaker. 

On the No. 2 court, Lucas Labrunie was edged out by the Blue Devil's Edu Güell, 7-5, 6-3. Labrunie's younger brother Axel made his collegiate debut with a strong performance on the No. 4 court, taking 117th-ranked Andrew Zhang to three sets. The two had to patiently wait through the rain delays to finally finish the match with Duke's Zhang holding off the younger Labrunie, 2-6, 6-1, 6-4.

UH's No. 3 Blaz Seric served twice for the match in the second set, but Duke's Spencer Furman fought back to even the match at a set apiece. But their match went unfinished with Seric taking the first set, 6-3 and Furman winning the second 7-5. The two were tied at 3-3 when play was suspended due to rain and then it went unfinished as Zhang clinched the win.

"I think it will be difficult not to remember my first dual match as head coach," says Kusnierz. "With all of the rain delays, we finally finished a day +10 hours after our season opener was originally scheduled. We were up a set in three matches and one point from serving for the first set on the No. 2 court against one of the best programs in the country. In the end, despite the close loss, I am very proud of the way my players competed. This is definitely a promising start to the season."

The Rainbow Warriors will have two days off before taking on Arizona in a pair of dual matches this weekend. UH will take on the Wildcats on Saturday, Jan. 11 at 2:00 p.m. on and Sunday, Jan. 12 at 11:00 a.m.

Duke 4, Hawaii 1
Jan 08, 2020 at Honolulu, HI (UH Tennis Complex)
 

Singles (Order of finish: 5,1,6,2,4)

1. Andre Ilagan (UH) def. Luca Keist (DU) 6-1, 7-6(8-6)

2. Edu Güell (DU) def. Lucas Labrunie (UH) 7-5, 6-3

3. Blaz Seric (UH) vs. Spencer Furman (DU) 6-3, 5-7, 3-3, unfinished

4. Andrew Zhang (DU) def. Axel Labrunie (UH) 2-6, 6-1, 6-4

5. Samuel Rubell (DU) def. Simao Telo Alves (UH) 6-0, 6-1

6. Garrett Johns (DU) def. Chia-Hua Lu (UH) 6-0, 6-4

 

Doubles competition: n/a

 

Match Notes

Duke 1-0

Hawaii 0-1