MALIBU, Calif. — The University of Hawaiʻi men's tennis team kicked off the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's (ITA) Southwest Regional Championship at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center on Thursday. The Rainbow Warriors delivered impressive performances across qualifying singles and consolation action on the opening day. Players only competed in singles on Thursday. 

The 'Bows dominated the Qualifying Round of 64, with six of their seven singles competitors notching victories to advance. Senior transfer Söeren Grandke cruised past UC Irvine's Nathaniel Suh in dominant fashion, 6-2, 6-1, while Kosuke Nakanishi put on a dominant display, blanking Cal Poly's Leo Mattysen in the opening frame en route to a 6-0, 6-3 victory. UH freshman David Knesl defeated Cal Poly's Denzel Seetso in two sets, 6-3, 6-3, and junior transfer Simon Knezevic handled UC Santa Barbara's Felipe Vasquez with a 6-2, 7-5 win. Returning UH sophomore Kent Mueller picked up a straight-set win over UC Riverside's Jovan Pedroza, 6-2, 6-4, while fellow returning sophomore Hikaru Takahashi battled back from nearly getting shutout in the first set, to defeat UCSB's Vicente Freda, 1-6, 6-2, 6-4. Returning junior Adriano Dzhenev put up a tough fight in his opening match, but narrowly fell to UC San Diego's Samuel He in three, 6-4, 1-6, 7-5.

In the Qualifying Round of 32, UH punched two tickets into Friday's winner's bracket. UH's Grandke continued his strong play, outlasting UC San Diego's Nicholas Lilov in three sets, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1. Hawai'i's Mueller also gritted out a hard-fought three-set win over Cal Poly's Evan Simon, 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-3.

UH's Knezevic took the first set before falling to LMU's Emil Kindhult, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3. UH's Takahashi dropped a tight 6-3, 6-4 decision to UCLA's Leo von Bismarck. Knesl forced UC Irvine's Rui Ning Huang to three sets after claiming the second, but ultimately fell 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 6-1, while Nakanishi fell to the Anteaters' Mason Bui, 6-4, 6-3.

In consolation action, UH's Dzhenev bounced back quickly from his Round of 64 loss by recording a straight-set victory against LMU's William Lokier, 6-4, 6-4.

Main draw action gets underway on Friday, featuring UH's Mats Breschneijder, who is set to face UCI's Mason Bui.


ITA SOUTHWEST REGIONALS 
DAY 1 RESULTS
Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026
Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center (Malibu, Calif.)

SINGLES RESULTS
Round of 64 - Qualifying Results
Simon Knezevic (UH) def. Felipe Vasquez (UCSB), 6-2, 7-5
Kent Mueller (UH) def. Jovan Pedroza (UCR), 6-2, 6-4
Samuel He (UCSD) def. Adriano Dzhenev (UH), 6-4, 1-6, 7-5
Hikaru Takahashi (UH) def. Vicente Freda (UCSB), 1-6, 6-2, 6-4
David Knesl (UH) def. Denzel Seetso (CP), 6-3, 6-3
Kosuke Nakanishi (UH) def. Leo Mattysen (CP), 6-0, 6-3
Söeren Grandke (UH) def. Nathaniel Suh (UCI), 6-2, 6-1

Round of 32 - Qualifying Results
Emil Kindhult (LMU) def. Simon Knezevic (UH), 4-6, 6-1, 6-3
Kent Mueller (UH) def. Evan Simon (CP), 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-3
Leo von Bismarck (UCLA) def. Hikaru Takahashi (UH), 6-3, 6-4
Rui Ning Huang (UCI) def. David Knesl  (UH), 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 6-1
Mason Bui (UCI) def. Kosuke Nakanishi (UH), 6-4, 6-3
Söeren Grandke (UH) def. Nicholas Lilov (UCSD), 6-3, 4-6, 6-1

Consolation
Adriano Dzhenev (UH) def William Lokier (LMU), 6-4, 6-4

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