HPU, BYUH tennis teams advance to NCAA semifinals
All three Hawaii tennis teams won today’s quarterfinal matches at the NCAA Division II Championships in Denver.
The third-ranked Hawaii Pacific men beat No. 8 Valdosta State 5-4. HPU trailed 2-1 after the doubles matches and 4-3 before Thibaud Berland won 6-7, 6-3, 6-4 at No. 1 singles to tie the dual match at 4-4. Clemens Graute then won 7-6, 2-6, 6-3 at No. 6 singles to send HPU to the semifinals. The Sharks (19-3) face No. 35 Ferris State (25-4) in Friday’s semifinals.
Top-ranked BYU-Hawaii rallied for a 5-2 win over No. 12 St. Mary’s (Texas) in the women’s quarterfinals. The Seasiders (24-0) trailed 2-1 after the doubles matches before sweeping four singles matches. Jade Griffin won 6-2, 6-4 at No. 6 singles to clinch the match for BYUH, which faces No. 2 St. Leo (23-2) in the semifinals. St. Leo beat BYUH 5-0 in last year’s championship.
The HPU women took down No. 15 Cameron 5-1. Oceane Adam won 6-2, 6-3 at No. 4 singles to clinch the match for the seventh-ranked Sharks (18-5), who will face No. 3 Armstrong Atlantic (30-1) in the semifinals.