There still isn’t a Division II team in the land that UH-Hilo men’s tennis can’t handle.
Freshman Alessandro Giuliato had a hand in pair of breakthrough victories Tuesday, and the Vulcans tagged the Cougars with their first loss, winning at Azusa, 7-2, for the first time
UH-Hilo (12-1) entered ranked No. 5 and the Cougars (17-1) were 14th, but those ratings are sure to change Wednesday when a new rankings come out.
Considering the Vulcans have won nine matches in a row on a road trip they might hope never ends, it’s hard to tell if this was an upset.
The Vulcans’ seventh victory against a ranked team was, coach Tina McDermott said, the biggest win in her two-plus years at Hilo.
At least for now.
“They were tough matches and every single one was hard fought,” McDermott said. “This was a very big win for us.
“Day to day it’s a fight, and we just have to keep playing well.”
Vulcan ace Vaclav Slezak was routed 6-1, 6-2 by the highly acclaimed Oliver Frank for only his second loss of the season, but Giuliato had his back. He handed Christian Schmid his first loss in singles, 6-0, 6-3, after Slezak and Giuliato teamed up to knock of Oliver Frank and Christian Schmid, the No. 1 team in the nation.
Azusa also won at No. 3 singles – Jakob Schnaitter bested Chun En Wu 6-1, 6-3 – but the Vulcans simply had better depth, taking all three doubles matches and Nos. 4-6 singles.
Alex Fillat Perez (three sets), Arturo Dell’eva (three sets) and Gregory Zukeran (straight sets) each prevailed, and Fillat Perez and Zukeran won in doubles play.
Frank has only lost once to a Division II player in the past two years and is a three-time West Region champion. It was only the second loss of the season for Slezak in singles play.
The Vulcans on Wednesday travel to take on UC San Diego, a team they they beat earlier in the season, then they wrap up the three-week road trip Friday at Point Loma.
“I know that I sound like a broken record, but even though our hard work is paying off, we still have a long ways to go,” McDermott said in a release.
In the women’s match, Gabriela Aguilar Law’s win at N0. 6 was the only triumph for UHHm, which lost 8-1 to the No. 7 Cougars to fall to 7-8.
Men
No. 5 UHH 7, No. 14 Azusa Pacific 2
Singles
#3 Oliver Frank (AP) def. #24 Vaclav Slezak (UHH), 6-1, 6-2.
#36 Alessandro Giuliato (UHH) def. #21 Christian Schmid (AP), 6-0, 6-3.
#31 Jakob Schnaitter (AP) def. #65 Chun En Wu (UHH), 6-1, 6-3.
Alex Fillat Perez (UHH) def. Ronald Kang (AP), 6-3, 0-6, 6-1.
#51 Arturo Dell’eva (UHH) def. Ryan Nuno (AP), 6-4, 5-7, 10-8.
Gregory Zukeran (UHH) def. Alan Leahy (AP), 6-4 6-2.
Doubles
#18 Slezak\Giuliato (UHH) def. #1 Frank/Schmid (AP), 8-7 (7-4)
Fillat Perez\Bruno Figlia (UHH) def. Schnaitter/Pejic (AP), 8-6
#31 Zukeran\Wu (UHH) def. Jesse Haas/Nuno (AP), 8-5.
No. 7 Azusa Pacific 8, UHH 1
Singles
#7 Toby Miclat (AP) def. Devanshi Bhimjiyani (UHH), 6-0, 6-0.
Diana Baumgartnere (AP) def. Daniela Sanz (UHH), 6-1, 5-7, 10-4.
Kara Hinton (AP) def. Marina Colvee (UHH), 6-1, 6-3.
#73 April Wong (AP) def. Carmelle Joyner (UHH), 2-6, 6-1, 10-7.
Jackie Resler (APU) def. Irena Le (UHH), 6-0, 6-1.
Gabriela Aguilar Law (UHH) def. Taitiana Betancourt (AP), 6-4, 1-4, ret.
Doubles
Miclat/Ivankovic (AP) def. Sanz\Bhimjiyani (UHH), 8-4.
Baumgartnere/Hinton (AP) def Colvee/Joyner (UHH), 8-6.
Mikayla Rinker/Courtney Page (AP) def. Cheyenne Schula/Gabriela Aguilar Law (UHH), 8-2.
