The rise of UH-Hilo men’s tennis can now best be described as meteoric.
It’s safe to say NCAA championship-bound Vulcans in a sentence again Monday after UHH dusted off Point Loma 5-3 in a West Regional match that lasted 4 hours, 15 minutes at Holua Tennis Center in Keauhou, advancing to the sweet 16.
Third-year coach Tina McDermott’s emotions put an emphasis on the word sweet.
“I am just so incredibly proud of this team and their grit and the fight that they showed,” she said.
The Vulcans (16-2) will make the program’s second trip to nationals, which start May 9 in Surprise, Ariz. The last UHH team to reach an NCAA Division II championship was men’s golf in 2014.
“This feels real good,” said freshman Alessandro Giuliato, the only Vul to win both his matches. “This has been our goal all season.
“Today, I was pretty sure we were going to win”
It was a long day for some, but not Giuliato. When he calls home to his native Italy to describe his matches, he can feel free to use the word “facile.”
It was easy.
He teamed with Vaclaz Slezak for an 8-2 win at No. 1 doubles, then Giuliato came through with his best singles match of the season, steamrolling Point Loma’s Brendon Millington 6-0, 6-1 on court 2.
“After the conference, I was working on my serve and my backhand,” Giuliato said. “My serve was good, and I was hitting a lot of winners.”
The Vulcans, seeded second in the West, had to come from behind against the Sea Lions (14-10) after dropping two of three doubles matches, and they persevered despite Slezak taking a 3-6, 6-3, 6-0 setback at No. 1.
“I was concerned, but not worried,” McDermott said. “I believe in my players, I know what kind of fight that they have in them.”
Alex Fillat Perez and Arturo Dell’eva followed Giuliato with straight set wins, and with the Vulcans ahead 4-3 most of the attention turned to court 3, where Chun En Wu outlasted Yuki Okamoto in a three-setter, setting off a celebration.
Giuliato may have a had small hand in that win, too.
“Before the match, (Wu) asked me to help him,” Giuliato said. “I tried to help him. He won, so that was good.”
UHH will head back to the Surprise Tennis and Racquet Center in the Phoenix area for a second time after finishing second in the Pacific West Conference championships April 21.
On Wednesday, the Vulcans will learn of their first-round opponent in the 16-team field.
“We don’t just come out expecting to win,” McDermott said. “We know we’re going to have to battle.”