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Women's Tennis.
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Men's Tennis.
The NCAA announced in the selection show on Monday afternoon that the Hawaii Pacific University men's and women's tennis teams are returning to the NCAA regional round. The women earned the No. 1 seed in the West Region and will host Point Loma at Kailua Racquet Club on Tuesday, May 2 at 3 pm. Meanwhile, the men earned the No. 3 seed and are headed back to the mainland for their match on Friday, Apr. 29, against host Point Loma.
This past week both teams were in Surprise, Ariz., for the PacWest Conference Championship, which saw them each make the finals in a déjà vu matchup from last year with Azusa Pacific. The women had their doubles match come down to the wire before finding success and the eventual win in singles.
For the third straight year, the deciding point came down to Mihoki Miyahara, who was unable to seal the victory for the Sharks in 2021 and 2022. However, this time she got her shot at redemption and came through with a commanding 6-1, 6-3 victory. Even more remarkable was her ability to overcome an injury earlier this season that left her bedridden for five weeks to start the year. This is the women's first title since 2019 and second overall for the school in the past two years, with men's golf winning a title in 2022.
"Winning the PacWest Championship this weekend in the way we did was a bittersweet ending to conference play for this team, said head coach Lauren Conching. "We've endured heartbreaking losses in Arizona the last two years, both times in the third set of the deciding match on Mihoki 's court. So for her to clinch the final point this year was a perfect moment for all of us."
The Sharks women make their 24th appearance in the NCAA tournament, and are set to host Point Loma, whom they beat 4-0 in the PacWest semi-finals and have an all-time 9-0 record against. HPU will also honor its six seniors as it is their last home event of the year.
Although the men would succumb to APU for the second straight year, this was their eighth appearance in the championship match in the tournament's 10-year history and their sixth time facing off against the Cougars. Benjamin Loccisano also earned the PacWest Sportsmanship Award for the conference.
The Sharks men, also facing Point Loma in the regional round, earned their 20th berth into the tournament, following a quarterfinal run last year. The Sea Lions took a head-to-head 4-3 win over the Sharks earlier in the season.
For more updates on times, live stats, and streaming, check out the NCAA website or hpusharks.com
