HONOLULU--The University of Hawai'i women's tennis team (7-6, 5-1 Big West) won its fourth-straight conference match on Sunday afternoon after edging out UC Santa Barbara, 4-3. With the match tied at 3-3, the decision came down to the No. 2 match between Hawai'i's
Nikola Homolkova and UCSB's Camille Kiss. Homolkova was clutch down the stretch as she pulled away for the three-set victory at the UH Tennis Complex.Hawai' broke over the .500 win mark for the first time this season and now sits atop the Big West standings but five schools all have one loss thus far in conference play.
The Gauchos won the doubles point to start the match however. UH's No. 3 duo of
Madison Kim and
Satsuki Takamura led off with 6-1 win over Valentina Khrebtova and Solaya Han. Hawsai'i's No. 2 pair of Ana Vilck and Homolkova dropped their match to Marta Gonzalez and Kiss, 6-2 to knot things at 1-1. UCSB's 24th-ranked Amelia Honer and Kira Reuter held off the 'Bows'
Rita Pinto and
Klara Novakova by a break, 7-5 to capture the first point of the match.
Right off the bat, Hawai'i tied the score at 1-1 as UH's No. 3 singles player, Takamura cruised past UCSB's Reuter, 6-2, 6-1. Kim, playing at No. 6 in the lineup then breezed past UCSB's Han in straight sets, 6-3, 6-0 to take a 2-1 lead. UC Santa Barbara's 61st-ranked Honer's 6-1, 6-2 straight set win snapped 107th-ranked
Ana Vilcek's nine-match win streak to knot the match at 2-2. Hawai'i's Pinto propelled the 'Bows to a 3-2 lead with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Gonzalez, but the Gauchos' Khrebtova evened the match with a 6-4, 6-4 win over UH's Novakova on the No. 4 court. The match hinged on the final ongoing match on the No. 2 court between UH's Homolkova and UCSB's Kiss. The first two sets were decided by a break by both sides for a 1-1 match. Kiss took a 2-1 lead early in the third, but Homolkova then came roaring back, breaking Kiss twice and winning the final five games to concluded the three-set win and clinch the match, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2.
The Rainbow Wahine have a busy upcoming week as it closes out its home schedule. On Wednesday, UH will take on Portland State in a non-conference match on Wednesday. March 29 at 2:30 p.m. HT. UH will follow with a pair of conference matches. UH will face Cal Poly on Thursday, March 30 at 2:30 p.m. HT and then UC San Diego on Senior Day, Saturday, April 1 at 11:00 a.m. HT.
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