The Hawaii Pacific University men’s tennis team defeated Drury University, 5-1, today to advance to the NCAA Division II national semifinals in Altamonte Springs, Fla.

It was HPU's third consecutive Elite Eight appearance.

The sixth-ranked Sea Warriors improve to 16-4 while No. 26 Drury finishes at 19-8.

HPU’s semifinal opponent will be top-ranked Armstrong Atlantic State. The Sea Warriors and Pirates played this past March, with HPU dropping an 8-1 decision.

“The guys are really pumped,” said HPU coach Stefan Pampulov. “They’re really looking forward to our match with Armstrong Atlantic. We lost to them earlier this year but they were all close matches. It’ll be a good challenge but the guys are up for it.”

The Sea Warriors took advantage of a thin Drury roster. They entered the match already holding a 3-0 lead due to three forfeits.

In No.1 doubles, the 28th-ranked duo of Daniel Luedi and Nikola Petrov fell 8-6 to Nahom Serekeberhan and Ivan Marevic, but Hendrik Bode and Sebastian Bader earned a hard-fought win in two doubles. They topped Antonio Santos and Alex Kacamakisz, 8-3, to pull within one win of the match.

28th-ranked Nikola Petrov grabbed the match-winning point in No.1 singles. He defeated 41st-ranked Kacamakisz, 6-4, 6-2, to send HPU into the semifinals.

HPU’s match with Armstrong Atlantic is set for Friday.