SAN DIEGO, Calif.—University of Hawai'i men's tennis standout Andre Ilagan advanced to the ITA National Fall Championships' quarterfinals on Friday. Ilagan, the No. 7 seeded player in the tournament, started the day with a three-set win in the Round of 32, but in the afternoon fell in the quarterfinals to the No. 2 seed.
 
Ilagan opened things in the morning against Denver's James Davis. In a match of big momentum swings, Ilagan defeated Davis in three sets, 6-0, 1-6, 6-0.
 
Head coach Joël Kusnierz said after the match, "Andre pulled through a mentally tough (first) match today. He showed a lot of pride to come back stronger in the third set. Very proud of the way he is representing himself and the program on the National stage."
 
With the win, Ilagan punched his ticket into the quarterfinals to battle No. 2 seed, Stanford's Arthur Fery. Ilagan was down early in the first set, trailing 0-2. But he fought his way back to capture Set 1, by a break. Fery rebounded to take Sets 2 and 3 to advance into the semifinals. Fery won, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
 
Ilagan is the first Rainbow Warrior to ever be invited to play at the ITA National Fall Championship tournament. Ilagan gained national recognition after starting in the qualifying matches and advancing all the way to the Main Draw semifinals at the ITA All-American tournament in Tulsa, Okla. last month.
 
This was the final fall match for the Rainbow Warrior tennis team. They will resume play with the start of their regular season in January 2022.