IRVINE, Calif. – The 2021 tennis season is now under way with two new members in the conference as Colorado Mesa and MSU Denver made their debuts as PacWest affiliates.
 
Colorado Mesa women’s tennis got the first regular season wins of PacWest teams this season, winning against Oklahoma Baptist and Nebraska-Kearney on February 5. The Mavericks have gone on to a 6-0 record for the best start to a season in program history.
 
The fifth-consecutive win for Colorado Mesa came against Western New Mexico, coming from behind for a 4-3 victory at the site of the PacWest Championships that will be played in April. Julianna Campos got the clinching victory at No. 6 singles with a 6-1, 6-4 win. Lauren Thomas won the only three-set match of the dual, winning 3-6, 6-3, 6-0 at No. 5 singles to tie the score at 3-3 before Campos clinched the win.
 
The first match between two conference teams was Biola’s home match against Concordia on Friday. Heather Richards won 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 at No. 5 singles to secure the victory for Concordia, 4-1. Colbeyshae Emery led an intriguing match at No. 1 singles against Ghazal Pakbaten before the match was called, 6-4, 6-6 (2-2).
 
Academy of Art started its season on Saturday with a convincing 6-1 win against Dominican. Sofia Ragona filled in the No. 1 slot for the Urban Knights and recorded a 6-1, 6-0 victory. The Urban Knights have a new look to their lineup with Ragona as the only returner from the 2019 team that reached the PacWest Championship match. Nicole Shiau didn’t drop a single game in her debut for Academy of Art at No. 2 singles.
 
Hawai`i Hilo made an impressive start to its season with a 3-1 record, including a 4-3 victory over No. 5 Hawai`i Pacific. Carolina Alfonsin clinched the victory with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win at No. 3 singles for the Vulcans. The Sharks made a quick turnaround to win the second match of the day, 4-0. Marlene Tilgner got her second win of the day at No. 1 singles, winning 6-0, 6-1, while reigning PacWest Player of the Year Elodie Busson claimed a 6-2, 6-4 win at No. 2 singles.
 
On the men’s side, Colorado Mesa has made a strong start with a 5-1 record without any losses to NCAA Division II teams. On Saturday, the Mavericks claimed a 6-1 win over Western New Mexico. Tyler Landen picked up a crucial win for Colorado Mesa at No. 3 singles. After winning the first set in a tiebreaker, he came through in straight sets with a 7-6 (3), 6-3 win to clinch the victory.
 
Concordia earned a 4-1 victory over Biola for its second win in as many matches this season. Yassine Smiej is back at the No. 1 slot for Concordia, where he posted an impressive 6-4, 6-0 win. Patrick Wong clinched the victory with two other close matches left unfinished. Wong recovered after dropping the first set for a 3-6, 6-0, 6-4 win at No. 2 singles.
 
Hawai`i Hilo and Hawai`i Pacific split a doubleheader between two nationally-ranked teams. In the first match, the Vulcans won 5-2 by taking each of the top-4 singles positions. Alessio Demichelis won his debut for the Vulcans, 6-4, 6-3 at No. 2 singles. Hawai`i Pacific won the second match with the help of a strong doubles performance. Kilian Maitre and Felix Einig won 6-4 at No. 3 doubles to clinch the point. Then Maitre claimed a 6-1, 6-3 win at No. 4 singles. The match was clinched on the racket of Cheng-Chieh Wang, who won 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 at No. 6 singles.
 
Weekly awards for the week of Feb. 8-14
 
WOMEN’S PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Halle Romero, Colorado Mesa
Fr., 5-4 – Corpus Christi, Texas
Romero made an impressive start to her season as a redshirt freshman with 10 wins in 11 matches between singles and doubles. Romero has played the majority of her doubles sets so far this season alongside Alexi Klabunde and is a perfect 5-0 in doubles sets with two bagel sets. While playing at the No. 4 singles position, Romero has a 5-1 record with five wins in a row without dropping a set. In fact, Romero hasn’t lost more than three games in any set. She came up with a key 6-3, 6-3 win in the Mavericks win against Western New Mexico.
 
MEN’S PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Martin Soukal, Hawai`i Hilo
So., 6-5 – Brno, Czech Republic
Over the last four years, the rivalry in men’s tennis between Hawai`i Hilo and Hawai`i Pacific has become one of the most intriguing matchups in NCAA Division II and the Vulcans have won four of the last seven meetings after last weekend’s split. Soukal is now 4-1 in singles when playing against the Sharks. He has been matched up in three of those matches against Benjamin Loccisano, who is the only Shark to have won a match against Soukal. The sophomore won the third meeting between the two, 6-4, 6-1 on Sunday. In the second match of the doubleheader, Soukal was matched up against Matej Panik, who he defeated 6-0, 6-3. Soukal also went 1-1 at No. 1 doubles for the Vulcans.