SAN DIEGO, Calif.—The Univeristy of Hawai'i women's tennis team (3-2, 2-0 Big West) began their first roadtrip of 2024 with a bang, sweeping conference foe, UC San Diego, 7-0 at the Northview Tennis Courts on Monday.
 
The Rainbow Wahine captured the doubles point to start the match with a 1-0 lead. The Tritons won the first match at No. 2 with UCSD's Sophie Parson and Naomi Nguyen defeating UH's Nikola Homolkova and Sheena Masuda, 6-2. But the Rainbow Wahine finished strong, winning both the No. 1 and No. 3 match by a break. At No. 1, Ana Vilcek and Nelly Knezkova held off UCSD's Kelly Leung and Katelyn Vu, 6-4 while Hannah Galindo and Anna Kern secured the doubles point with a 6-4 victory over Grace Gamal and Polina Jorniak.
 
UH's Knezkova started singles by knocking off Gamal on Court #2, 6-2, 6-4 and Masuda followed with her first straight-set win donning the Green and White as she held off UCSD's Vu, 6-4, 7-6 (4). Rookie Galindo clinched the match with her first collegiate dual match victory. She knocked off Jorniak on the No. 6 court, 6-2, 7-5. With the match in hand, UH's No. 5 Joelle Lanz pulled away from the Tritons' Pearson, 7-5, 6-2. In the final two matches, both Vilcek and Homolkova bounced back after dropping their first set to win in three. After falling in the first frame, UH's No. 1 Vilcek rolled to the win blanking UCSD's Leung the final two sets, 4-6, 6-0, 6-0. No. 3 Homolkova concluded the BW match fighting her way back to down Nguyen, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
 
Hawai'i will continue their tour through San Diego next facing the Aztecs of San Diego State on Wednesday, Feb. 14 at the Aztec Tennis Center.

Hawaii 7, UC San Diego 0
2/3/2024 at San Diego, Calif.
(Northview Tennis Center)

Singles competition
1. Vilcek, Ana (UHW) def. Kelly Leung (UCSD) 4-6, 6-0, 6-0
2. Knezkova, Nelly (UHW) def. Grace Gamal (UCSD) 6-2, 6-4
3. Homolkova, Nikola (UHW) def. Naomi Nguyen (UCSD) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
4. Masuda, Sheena (UHW) def. Katelyn Vu (UCSD) 6-4, 7-6 (7-4)
5. Lanz, Joelle (UHW) def. Sophie Pearson (UCSD) 7-5, 6-2
6. Galindo, Hannah (UHW) def. Polina Jorniak (UCSD) 6-2, 7-5

Doubles competition
1. Vilcek, Ana/Knezkova, Nelly (UHW) def. Kelly Leung/Katelyn Vu (UCSD) 6-4
2. Sophie Pearson/Naomi Nguyen (UCSD) def. Masuda, Sheena/Homolkova, Nikola (UHW) 6-2
3. Galindo, Hannah/Kern, Anna (UHW) def. Grace Gamal/Polina Jorniak (UCSD) 6-4

Match Notes:
Hawaii 3-2, 2-0 Big West
UC San Diego 1-6, 0-1 Big West
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (2,4,6,5,1,3)