RIVERSIDE, Calif. - The University of Hawai'i women's tennis team closed its 2021 regular season victorious with a win over UC Riverside, 4-0, Sunday at the SRC Tennis Courts. 

The win snapped a four-match losing streak for the Rainbow Wahine (6-7, 4-4 BWC), who will head directly to Irvine, Calif., for this week's Big West Tournament. 
 
With No. 1 player Petra Melounova back in the line-up after missing the last five matches, Hawai'i used its experience to get past the Highlanders, closing the match early after clinching both the doubles and singles contests. 

In doubles, the 'Bows controlled the competition with wins on the No. 3 and No. 2 courts. UH's Alexis Merrill and Lea Romain finished first after sweeping Serina Saltzen and Sydney Tran, 6-0. Not too long after, the No. 2 court was decided with UH's Nikola Dolakova and Satsuki Takamura outplaying Mahli Silpachai and Natalie Shamma, 6-3, to clinch the doubles point.

UH's win in doubles play set the tone for the rest of the match, with the Rainbow Wahine capturing the No. 6, No. 4, and No. 1 courts in sequence to secure the victory. Merrill finished first after defeating Saltzen on the No. 6 court in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2. Following Merrill, UH's Bojana Markovic displayed control in her game against Hanh Pham, winning 6-1, 6-1 on the No. 4 court. With one more point to go, it was only fitting that UH's ace Melounova ended the final regular-season match with a clinch on the No. 1 court, defeating Elpusan, 6-4, 6-3.
 
Hawai'i enters the Big West Championship as the No. 5 seed where they will meet fourth-seeded UC Davis, Thursday at 8:30 a.m. PT. The teams met two weeks ago in Davis, Calif., with the Aggies pulling out a tight 4-2 decision.


Hawai'i 4, UC Riverside 0
April 25, 2021
Riverside, Calif. (SRC Tennis Courts)
 
Doubles
1. Petra Melounova/Bojana Markovic (UH) vs. Tia Elpusan/Hanh Pham (UCR) 4-5 Unfinished
2. Nikola Dolakova/Satsuki Takamura (UH) def. Mahli Silpachai/Natalie Shamma (UCR) 6-3
3. Alexis Merrill/Lea Romain (UH) def. Serina Saltzen/Sydney Tran (UCR) 6-0
Order of finish: (3, 2*)

Singles
1. Petra Melounova (UH) def. Tia Elpusan (UCR) 6-4, 6-3
2. Nikola Dolakova (UH) vs. Mahli Silpachai (UCR) 6-4, 1-1, Unfinished
3. Satsuki Takamura (UH) vs. Natalie Shamma (UCR) 6-1, 5-2, Unfinished
4. Bojana Markovic (UH) def. Hanh Pham (UCR) 6-1, 6-1
5. Lea Romain (UH) vs. Sofia Lazzaroni (UCR) 6-0, 4-2, Unfinished
6. Alexis Merrill (UH) def. Serina Saltzen (UCR) 6-1, 6-2
Order of finish: (6, 4, 1*)