HONOLULU — The University of Hawaiʻi men's tennis team kicked off its 2026 fall campaign with a dominant opening day at the Mānoa Fall Classic on Friday at the UH Tennis Complex. Competing against local cross-town rival Hawaiʻi Pacific and UC Santa Cruz, the Rainbow Warriors won eight of nine singles matches and all three doubles matches to control the action throughout the fall opener.
The 'Bows swept through doubles action with three convincing victories. Soren Grandke and Kosuke Nakanishi defeated HPU's Ethan Terry and Seth Newman 8-4, while UH's Simon Knezevic and Kent Mueller downed UCSC's duo of Benjamin Wang and Rocco Melendez by the same 8-4 score. Hawaiʻi's Adriano Dzhenev and David Knesl completed the doubles sweep, holding off the Banana Slugs' Landon Arendt and Caden Wong, 8-5.
The 'Bows played solidly in their singles matches, highlighted by straight-set wins and a tiebreak thriller. UH returnee and junior Dzhenev edged out UCSC's Wang in a match that ended in a second-set tiebreaker, 6-1, 7-6 (4). Hawaiʻi senior Nakanishi swept HPU's Matteo Perrod, 6-3, 6-4, while Hikaru Takahashi cruised past UC Santa Cruz's Melendez, 6-2, 6-3. In UH's lone loss of the day, HPU's Ethan Terry held off UH's Kent Mueller, 6-2, 6-4.
UH's five newcomers who played on Friday all recorded victories in their first matches donning the Green & White. Grandke defeated HPU's Seth Newman, 6-2, 6-1. Knesl knocked off UCSC's Hudson Ward, 6-1, 6-2. Hawaiʻi rookie Ethan Chun delivered the highlight of the day in a three-set battle that ended in a hard-fought super tiebreaker over UCSC's Caden Wong, 6-2, 5-7, 1-0 (12-10). Ian Layton edged out UCSC's Landon Arendt in a first-set tiebreaker before coasting to a 7-6 (8-6), 6-1 win. Rounding out the day was Simon Knezevic, who knocked off Santa Cruz's Gavin Sonntag, 6-3, 6-2.
The Mānoa Fall Classic continues on Saturday, September 19, at 9:00 a.m. HT at the UH Tennis Complex.
Manoa Fall Classic - Day 1 Results
Sep 18, 2026 at Honolulu, O'ahu (UH Tennis Complex)
Singles competition
Ethan Terry (Hawai'i Pacific) def.
Kent Mueller (Hawaii) 6-2, 6-4
Adriano Dzhenev (Hawaii) def. Benjamin Wang (UC Santa Cruz) 6-1, 7-6 (7-4)
Soren Grandke (Hawaii) def. Seth Newman (Hawai'i Pacific) 6-2, 6-1
Kosuke Nakanishi (Hawaii) def. Matteo Perrod (Hawai'i Pacific) 6-3, 6-4
Hikaru Takahashi (Hawaii) def. Rocco Melendez (UC Santa Cruz) 6-2, 6-3
David Knesl (Hawaii) def. Hudson Ward (UC Santa Cruz) 6-1, 6-2
Ethan Chun (Hawaii) def. Caden Wong (UC Santa Cruz) 6-2, 5-7, 1-0 (12-10)
Ian Layton (Hawaii) def. Landon Arendt (UC Santa Cruz) 7-6 (8-6), 6-1
Simon Knezevic (Hawaii) def. Gavin Sonntag (UC Santa Cruz) 6-3, 6-2
Arthur Pery (Hawai'i Pacific) vs. Jasper Hine (UC Santa Cruz) no result
Doubles competition
Soren Grandke/
Kosuke Nakanishi (Hawaii) def. Ethan Terry/Seth Newman (Hawai'i Pacific) 8-4
Simon Knezevic/
Kent Mueller (Hawaii) def. Benjamin Wang/Rocco Melendez (UC Santa Cruz) 8-4
Adriano Dzhenev/
David Knesl (Hawaii) def. Landon Arendt/Caden Wong (UC Santa Cruz) 8-5
Matteo Perrod/Arthur Pery (Hawai'i Pacific) def. Hudson Ward/Jasper Hine (UC Santa Cruz) 8-5
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