UH women’s tennis to open

The University of Hawaii women’s tennis team begins its spring schedule against seventh-ranked Duke tomorrow at 11 a.m. at the UH Tennis Complex.

The Blue Devils advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals last year. They have five players in the ITA singles rankings, including four in the top 50. Leading the way is senior Reka Zsilinszka, who is ranked No. 4 in the country. The Blue Devils also have two ranked doubles teams, headlined by No. 4 Ellah Nze and Nadine Fahoum.

The Rainbow Wahine are coming off a 12-14 season in which they advanced to the Western Athletic Conference tournament semifinals a second straight year. They return seven players but lost senior Sophie Kobuch, a three-time All-WAC performer. UH added Magdalena Ploch, from Germany. She played two years for Massachusetts and was the 2009 Atlantic-10 Freshman of the Year.

Vulcans thrash Academy of Art

Hillary Hurley scored 24 points and pulled down 14 rebounds as the UH-Hilo women’s basketball team beat Academy of Art 76-65 last night in Hilo.

Hotia Vaaimamao contributed 15 points and Natalie Mata chipped in 12 for the Vulcans (3-6, 1-0 PacWest). Verity Peets paced the Urban Knights (3-7, 0-1) with 16 points and 12 rebounds..