On an historic University of Hawai'i day that was 25 years and four rain delays in the making, the Rainbow Wahine beat New Mexico State in the first round of the Western Athletic Conference Tennis Championship last night to reach their inaugural semifinal.

The 'Bows were not awed, by their accomplishment or the challenge that waits when they face top-seeded and 16th-ranked Fresno State today at 3 p.m. at the UH Tennis Complex.

"I'm happy, for the girls, for the program," said fourth-year coach Jun Hernandez. "But there's still a lot more competition. ... This is just a step forward and I know we can accomplish a lot more than the semifinals of the WAC Tournament.

"Since I first got here my mission has been to be in the Top 10 in the nation."

Sophie Kobuch, one of just two UH upperclassmen and its only all-conference singles player, has huge respect for FSU, which has won a record eight WAC titles, including the last seven. But she hardly sounds intimidated.

"If nobody beat them they wouldn't be ranked where they are right now," Kobuch said. "They would be all on the pro tour and beat Serena Williams maybe. They are very beatable. Every singles player here is beatable. We are going to go out and play every single point one at a time and just fight, fight, fight."

Melinda Wong, Hawai'i's lone senior, clinched the victory when she won 6-4, 6-2 on the No. 5 court, giving the 'Bows their fourth point. It came at 7 p.m. — 10 hours after the tournament started and four rain delays into it, including two five-minute "blessings" in the final match.

Kobuch also won in a shutout on the No. 2 court and freshman Anja-Vanessa Peter won at No. 3.

The result was historic and satisfying — the Aggies ousted UH in the first round last year — but hardly surprising. The Rainbows (13-12) shut NMSU (10-13) out Sunday in Las Cruces.

Just like Sunday, much of the drama came early. While the Rainbow Wahine's third doubles team — Wong and Peter — controlled their match from the start and won 8-5, the top two teams had to rally.

Kobuch and freshman Aglae Van den Bergh were too far down and fell at No. 1, 8-5. That left the lone doubles point at the mercy of the No. 2 court, where Hawai'i freshmen Ellen Linsenbolz and Alyssa Nafarrete started fast, then fell behind 4-5.

They tied it at 5, but trailed love-40 in the next game, only to win it. With Hawai'i up 7-6, NMSU had a serve to tie it. Nafarrete erased it with one winner, gave UH match point with another, then ended it by smoking a volley between the Aggies.

"She closed it out but Ellen was setting it up," Hernandez said. "At the end they really communicated much better."

The singles players were inspired. Kobuch needed three tiebreakers to stop Laura Boguet Sunday in New Mexico, but blitzed her this time, 6-0, 6-0.

"I didn't play a good match at all (Sunday) but I competed hard," said Kobuch, who earned her second all-WAC honor last night. "I expected it to be really hard. I had a plan in mind and I knew if I could execute it I'd be fine so I was just putting points together."

Kobuch came in against Boguet's slice backhand and "made less mistakes," encouraged by a loud home crowd drawn to her tenacity and fist-pumping perfection. She also had a simple explanation for why this team is the first from UH to reach a WAC semifinal.

"We're just better this year," Kobuch said. "I'm older and know how to tell the girls what's going to happen a little bit. Even though we're a young team, with four freshmen, we have experienced girls. Why this year? Because we are better."

Hernandez was even more succinct. Asked if this was his best team, he grinned and said: "So far."

It was the Rainbow Wahine's first win in the conference tournament since 2006. The UH men also play today at 3 p.m., taking on sixth-seeded Idaho in their opening round. The 'Bows are defending WAC champs and seeded third.

NOTES

Hawai'i's Dennis Lajola, a sophomore from 'Aiea, made the all-WAC first team for the second straight year. Senior Sascha Heinemann and junior Andreas Weber, both from Germany, were named to the second team. Heinemann finishes his career as Hawai'i's first four-time honoree, with two first-team and two second-team honors in singles. Weber was on first team as a freshman and second team the past two years. Rainbow Wahine Sophie Kobuch, a junior from France, earned a place on the second team in singles and doubles, with freshman Aglae Van den Bergh. Kobuch was on the first team last year. Fresno State's Melanie Gloria is WAC Player of the Year for the fourth time. Boise State's Clancy Shields is the men's Player of the Year.