Yes, you do get a second chance to make a first impression.
The University of Hawaii-Hilo men’s tennis team returns to the NCAA championships for the second consecutive season largely intact and intent on reaching the quarterfinals after stubbing their toe in the first round a year ago.
The fourth-seeded Vulcans would appear to have a favorable matchup when they take on No. 13 Bluefield State at 6 a.m. today at Sanlando Park in Alamonte Springs, Florida.
The Big Blues (15-9) advanced to nationals out of the Atlantic Region and don’t have a player listed in the latest top 75 Intercollegiate Tennis Rankings after Arthur Figuiere fell off the list in April.
The Vulcans (13-4), meanwhile, have three such players: No. 15 Vaclav Slezak, No. 26 Alessandro Giuliato and No. 47 Martin Soukal. Slezak and Giuliato are the No. 41st-ranked doubles duo, though first-year coach Kallen Mizuguchi once again mixed things up in UHH’s 5-2 West Region victory against Azusa Pacific on May 12, pairing Slezak with Soukal and Giuliato with Chun En Wu.
Last season in a 5-3 loss to Indianapolis in the round of 16 at nationals, Slezak and Giuliato each took care of their business in singles and doubles play. Wu lost at No. 3 singles, but this year he plays on Court 4 with the addition of Soukal, the Pacific West Conference freshman of the year. Arturo Dell’eva, who lost a third-set tiebreak 10-8 last season against Indianapolis, also returns to the back end of the rotation.
UHH also would appear to be more battle-tested than Bluefield State, having already taken on the top seed, Barry University (a 6-1 loss), while splitting two matches against No. 3 Hawaii Pacific.
The winner advances to Wednesday quarterfinals to face either No. 12 seed Drury or No. 5 South Carolina-Aiken.