BYUH women, men, HPU men off to nationals
By Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Staff Writer
LA'IE — Getting to the nationals shouldn't be this easy.
But three NCAA Division II tennis teams from Hawai'i will compete for the national title next weekend in Kansas City, Mo., after allowing their competition just one point each at the West Regionals yesterday.
The top-ranked Brigham Young University-Hawai'i men's and women's teams quickly and adeptly defeated their competition, 6-1 and 5-1, respectively, in their division championship matchup. The Hawai'i Pacific men won their division championship, 5-1.
The undefeated Seasider women (25-0), winners of four national titles in the past five years, go into the NCAA II championships as a favorite after finishing second last year.
The BYUH men (24-1), on the other hand, aren't used to being the statistical favorites. The Seasiders finished fourth last year and started the season ranked below HPU.
Should both teams win their respective national championship, it would be the first time a Division II program brought home the men's and women's titles in the same year.
"Every year they get stronger; the players get better; our recruiting is better," BYUH coach David Porter said "But these are the best teams I've ever coached."
BYUH men cruise
Up 2-1 going into yesterday's singles round against No. 24 UC Davis, the Seasider men relied on the consistent play of their top two players, Jan Krejci and Peter Madarassy.
Madarassy earned the first point in a service ace, setting the tone for the rest of the match. His explosive first serve kept his opponent, Yaro Vinogradsky, frustrated and off-balance. Dominating from the baseline, Madarassy recorded an ace in every set he served. He defeated Vinogradsky, 6-2, 6-3.
"I was serving really well," said the 24-year-old Budapest native. "That was the dominant thing (in my game). I knew I could break him."
After BYUH's Eddie Merc blanked his opponent and Hong Tae Kim won his match, it was left to Krejci, the nation's top player, to wrap up the Seasider win.
The 6-foot-3 Krejci stood nearly a foot taller than his competitor, UCD's Greg Lee. And he used his height to his advantage, charging the net and carefully placing drop shots out of Lee's reach. Krejci won easily, 6-2, 6-2.
"I knew he was serving well, had good footwork and was patient," said the 23-year-old from Prague. "So I knew I had to be aggressive and serve tough."
BYUH women roll
The BYUH women handily — and confidently — put away local rival HPU (9-7), 5-1. Also up 2-1 after doubles, the Seasiders dominated in singles, allowing the Sea Warriors to take just five sets.
It took less than a hour for BYUH's No. 2 player, Adrienn Hegedus, to put away HPU's Stephanie Kovacic, 6-1, 6-1. BYUH's Any Sun and Tagifano So'onalole-Taosoga won their respective matches to seal the win.
"It's hard for us to come (into the match) and say we're going to win for sure," said BYUH's Petra Gaspar, the team's No. 1 player.
Gaspar, however, was dominating her opponent with her aggressive style of play before the match was called.
"You can never be sure in tennis, even if on paper we're ranked higher than the other team. We just have to play our best."
The 10th-ranked HPU men (18-4) fended off a feisty UC San Diego team ranked No. 22 in the nation. HPU's top player, Mikael Maatta, struggled in singles before it was called after the outcome of the team score was determined.
The other Sea Warriors made up for Maatta's struggles. Blaz Jurjec, Matey Pampulov and Jan Tribler won their matches in straight sets.
"We played well enough to pull through," said HPU head coach Henry Somerville. "They (UCSD) fought really hard. There were close matches. I'm glad we were able to pull through."
Both coaches would love to see an HPU-BYUH men's final, which could happen if the draw puts the teams on opposite ends.
"Oh, I'd love that," Somerville said. "You can never tell how it will all unfold, but I think that would be the best matchup for the final game."
