Tournament Scores and Schedule

HONOLULU  – The University of Hawai`i women's tennis team opened the Western Athletic Conference Tennis Championship Thursday with a 4-1 quarterfinal win over New Mexico State at the UH Tennis Complex. With the win the Rainbow Wahine improved to 13-12 and advanced to the WAC Tournament semifinals for the first time in program history.

 

UH will now face top-seed Fresno State, the 16^th-ranked team in the nation, at 3:00 p.m. on Friday. The other semifinal pits No. 2 seed Boise State vs. No. 3 seed Nevada at noon.

 

It was the second win in five days for the Rainbow Wahine over the Aggies. The two teams met in the WAC regular season finale on Sunday in Las Cruces, with UH blanking NMSU, 7-0.  The results weren't much different this time around with UH taking the double points and clinching the match with a trio of straight set wins in singles. With the win, UH also avenged a quarterfinal loss to NMSU in last year's tourney quarterfinals in New Mexico.

 

The Rainbow Wahine picked up its first tournament win since a first-round victory over Louisiana Tech in 2006. In the process the team also matched it highest season win total in eight years with 13 victories . The Aggies, meanwhile, saw their season come to a close with a 10-13 mark.

 

UH claimed the doubles point in thrilling fashion as the teams split the first two matches. Anja-Vanessa Peter and Melinda Wong took down Laura Boguet and Natalia Salum Soto, 8-5, on court No. 3, while the Aggies claimed court No. 1 with a 8-5 win by Stephanie Eusebe and Isabella Kulaif over Aglae Van den Bergh  and Sophie Kobuch. The tandem of Alyssa Nafarrete and Ellen Linsenbolz clinched the point by holding off Sophia Marks and Aleksa Costa, 8-6, at the No. 2 position.

 

The Rainbow Wahine got a dominating 6-0, 6-0 win by Kobuch over Boguet at the No. 2 court to start singles play off. Peter notched a 6-2, 6-2 win over Eusebe at the No. 3 court and Wong clinched UH's win with a 6-4, 6-2 decision over Salum Soto at the No. 5 court. New Mexico State's lone point came at the No. 6 position as Kulaif defeated Nafarrette, 7-5, 6-0.

 

Following the match , the WAC handed out its annual awards at the tournament banquet with two Rainbow Wahine earning all-WAC honors. Van den Bergh and Kobuch were named to the all-WAC second team for doubles. Kobuch also earned all-WAC second team in singles. It was the second straight year that junior earned all-WAC singles mention, after gaining first-team accolades as a sophomore.

 

 

1. Isabela Kulaif/Stephanie Eusebe (NMSU) def. Aglae Van den Bergh/Sophie Kobuch (UH) 8-5

2. Alyssa Nafarrete/Ellen Linsenbolz (UH) def. Sophia Marks/Aleksa Costa (NMSU) 8-6

3. Anja-Vanessa Peter/Melinda Wong (UH) def. Laura Boguet/Natalia Salum Soto (NMSU) 8-5

 

1. Ellen Linsenbolz (UH) vs. Sophia Marks (NMSU) 6-4, 1-2, unfinished

2. Sophie Kobuch (UH) def. Laura Boguet (NMSU) 6-0, 6-0

3. Anja-Vanessa Peter (UH) def. Stephanie Eusebe (NMSU) 6-2, 6-2

4. Aglae Van den Bergh (UH)  Aleksa Costa (NMSU)  6-4, 2-2, unfinished

5. Melinda Wong (UH) def. Natalia Salum Soto (NMSU) 6-4, 6-2

6. Isabela Kulaif (NMSU) def. Alyssa Nafarrete (UH) 7-5, 6-0