HPU men win, women rained out
Advertiser Staff
Quarterfinal women's matches were postponed because of a thunderstorm in Altamonte Springs, Fla., yesterday, but the Hawai'i Pacific men's team beat the rain and Drury University, 5-1, to reach the semifinals of the NCAA Division II Tennis Championships.
The sixth-ranked Sea Warriors (16-4) started with a 3-0 advantage when 26th-ranked Drury (19-8) had to forfeit three matches. After Hendrik Bode and Sebastian Bader won at No. 2 doubles, Nikola Petrov earned the winning point in straight sets at No. 1 singles.
HPU's semifinal opponent today will be top-ranked Armstrong Atlantic State. The Sea Warriors and Pirates played in March, with HPU falling 8-1.
"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 top-ranked Brigham Young-Hawai'i women were still in the thick of two doubles matches when the rains hit. The Seasiders lost one doubles match against second-ranked Lynn and were in tiebreakers at 8-all in the other two.
Hawai'i Pacific, ranked 14th, is down 1-2 to fourth-ranked Valdosta State.
Those matches are scheduled to resume at 2 a.m. HST today, with semifinals beginning at 9 a.m. The HPU men play at 4:30 a.m.