Hawai'i's Rainbow Wahine tennis team saw its season end in its first conference semifinal yesterday. The Rainbow men, defending Western Athletic Conference champions, move on to their fourth straight semifinal in today's WAC Championships.

The 'Bows dropped the doubles point but bounced back with abandon in singles yesterday at the UH Tennis Complex, defeating Idaho, 4-1, in the first round of the men's tournament. The Rainbow Wahine fell to 16th-ranked Fresno State, 4-0, in their first semifinal. Their season ended 13-13 — the highest win total in eight years.

"As far as performance, one highlight this season was being in the semifinals of the WAC Championship for the first time in school history," said UH coach Jun Hernandez, whose team was seeded fourth. "I thought too, beating (No. 74) Washington State — the first ranked team we've beaten in school history — was good.

"But the most special memory for me is when this group of kids ... you're talking to them and these eyes are looking at you and they have belief in themselves that anything is possible. That's really special as a coach."

The Rainbow Wahine, with four freshmen, fell to a team that features four-time WAC Player of the Year Melanie Gloria, ranked 16th nationally, and the country's top-ranked doubles duo (Anastasia Petukhova and Renata Kucerkova). FSU (21-5) plays for its eighth straight championship at noon today against 36th-ranked Boise State, which beat Nevada, 4-0.

Before and after, the men play their semifinals, with 20th-ranked Boise State taking on New Mexico State at 9 a.m and 68th-ranked Hawai'i (8-9) facing 41st-ranked Fresno State at 3 p.m. That is a sequel to last year's WAC Championship, after the 'Bows beat BSU in the semifinals.

Both matches were riveting and UH coach John Nelson expects the same today.

"Last year they beat us at home and we beat them at the WAC Championships," he said of the Bulldogs. "This year they beat us at Fresno (4-3). I anticipate a good match. There is no one key matchup. I'm just looking for four points.

"At this point in the season the guys are working on very specific things and it's all kicking in. The coaches are backing off more. I expect the discipline to be kicking in for our guys. ... We're getting better."

Aside from the team of Dennis Lajola, ranked 60th nationally, and Jeff Fitch, the 'Bows were hardly dominant in doubles yesterday. But they rallied quickly in singles, with Lajola, Fitch, freshman Leo Rosenberg and Andreas Weber powering to straight-set victories against Idaho (16-11).