SURPRISE, Ariz. – Hawai`i Hilo had two years to think about the opportunities that were narrowly missed at the previous two PacWest Championships, but the Vulcans did not miss on their third opportunity with Luca Checchia clinching a 4-3 victory over No. 1 seed Azusa Pacific at No. 4 singles in the championship match, making Hawai`i Hilo the 2021 PacWest Champions.
 
Hawai`i Hilo won its first PacWest title since sweeping the PacWest Golf Championships in 2014 by taking out Azusa Pacific, which entered the match undefeated on the season against NCAA Division II opponents. The win gives the Vulcans 14 PacWest titles all-time, which is the third most among active members of the conference.
 
“I’m at a loss for words,” head coach Kallen Mizuguchi said after leading his squad to the PacWest Championship in just his third year as head coach. “We got through three tough schools. All three of the matches could have gone either way.”
 
The overall match score was tied 3-3 when Checchia was down a break in the deciding set against Leyton Bohren on court 16. The secondary stadium court at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Club was surrounded on all sides by fans who came from around the grounds to see the deciding set of the 2021 PacWest Championships.
 
Checchia got back on serve and led 3-2 when everyone from the other courts arrived at the last remaining match. Both of the next two games went to a deciding point, and Bohren won both of them to break and take a 4-3 lead. The following game went to deciding point as well, and this time Checchia won the point with his defense to break right back and even the match.
 
“I was really nervous and I was thinking that I had already lost four deciding points in this set, so I knew I had to just go for it," Checchia said after the match in Spanish about that point. "If I had thought about what could happen, I know myself and I know I would have failed. I knew that he was going to go after my forehand, so I wanted to just return it deep and not let him get into the court and it worked for me.”
 
Checchia held his next game at love to force Bohren to serve to stay in the match. Bohren did exactly what he needed to stay in the match and got the hold, despite a delay due to a net issue in the middle of the game. For the third time in the match, a set was tied 5-5. Just like during their regular season match when they split sets against each other, both players were evenly matched.
 
"I know Leyton is very confident in himself," Checchia said. "I’ve played against him before, and the last time it also went three sets. I know he believes in himself and that he’s going to go for his shots. I knew that I had to do the same thing, because if I left my shots short, he was going to hit me off the court easily. So I focused on myself and tried to get used to the environment, trying to be one with my team, which helped me a lot.”
 
After holding his serve, Checchia again forced Bohren to serve to stay in the match. He won three points in a row to earn two chances to break at 6-5 in the deciding set. On championship point, Checchia hit a passing shot from deep behind the court and got it low enough for him to win the point and clinch the victory, sending his teammates flying over the fence onto the court to celebrate the victory.
 
"I was thinking more about what happened two years ago when Hawai`i Pacific clinched the championship against me and I lost on a double fault," Checchia admitted. "I was looking at my teammates and I just didn’t want to do the same thing again. I was enjoying myself on the court, which is a weird thing to say, but this time I was enjoying myself even though it was a tough match, and in the end I managed to win it."
 
The Vulcans’ earned the PacWest’s automatic bid into the NCAA West Regional, where they may face Azusa Pacific again. It was the second time that Checchia had clinched a match against Azusa Pacific in the PacWest Championships after also doing so in 2019. He also clinched the Vulcans’ win against Hawai`i Pacific in the semifinals the day before.
 
The match got off to a perfect start for Azusa Pacific, which rushed to a 2-0 lead. Ryan Nuno and Sam Sippel won their 14th-consecutive match at No. 2 doubles and then Jakob Schnaitter and Bohren won 6-2 at No. 1 doubles to secure the doubles point. Then Nuno got a 6-1, 6-2 victory at No. 3 singles to extend the Cougars’ lead before Bohren and Checchia had even finished the first set.
 
All week long, Martin Soukal was in dominant form at the PacWest Championships. He had played No. 3 singles as a freshman the last time he was at the PacWest Championships, but this time he embraced his role as the team’s top player and earned impressive wins against Alexei Prokopchuk and Benjamin Loccisano.
 
“We met with Martin Friday night to go over certain things, and one of the keys was to make sure that he was swinging away,” Mizuguchi said. “We wanted to go into the match confident, not tight, with no pressure on him. Jakob is such a great player and it is tough to be so dominant throughout his whole career. I told Martin that this would be a great time to capitalize on that, because it is so hard to stay on top for such a long time. I think Martin being the underdog allowed him to swing away capitalize on every opportunity he could get, because you don’t get many against Jakob.”
 
On Saturday, Soukal earned the most impressive win so far of his collegiate career. Facing the best singles player in NCAA Division II according to the UTR rankings who had not dropped a single set all year, Soukal played a nearly perfect match to defeat Jakob Schnaitter 6-3, 6-3. His win put Hawai`i Hilo on the board with their first point of the day.
 
“When I lost my first set, I went to the bathroom and I saw how the other matches were going and I went by just as Martin finished his match,” Checchia said. “I know Jakob is an incredible player and he hasn’t lost a single set all season, but I told Martin yesterday that I was totally confident in him. We know what his level is like in pressure situations. He was also really motivated to win the conference. So we believed that we were the better team and that he is our No. 1 player, so we trust him. Honestly, it was incredible to see him win, and it gave all of us even more belief.”
 
Shortly after, Joshua Liu won 6-2, 6-3 at No. 5 singles to even the match at 2-2. Each of the three remaining matches all went three sets. Alessio Demichelis won the first set 7-5 against Sippel, who had not dropped a match all year at No. 2 singles going into the championship. Sippel, who had beaten Demichelis in straight sets in their first encounter, came back to win the second set 6-3 and led 4-1 with two breaks in the deciding set. Demichelis had to pull out of the previous day’s match with an injury, but he had the stamina to finish the match, winning five games in a row to earn the victory 7-5, 3-6, 6-4.
 
“Yesterday, we pulled Alessio out because he had been hurting and wasn’t moving well, so he had to fight mentally through the pain,” Mizuguchi said. “He needed to scramble every point and dig deep, and that’s what he did. Sam is a great player, so that was a great win and we needed it today.”
 
He put the Vulcans one point away from victory, putting all the pressure on Bohren and the Cougars’ No. 6 singles player Cole Rassner to keep the title chase alive. Rassner had let opportunities slip away earlier in the match but with a 5-4 lead in the deciding set, Rassner saved break points and won a deciding point to take the match 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 and tie the overall score again, 3-3.
 
That was when all the attention shifted to No. 4 singles. Each of the first two sets in that match were grueling battles, and the deciding set wasn’t any different. Bohren used his forehand aggressively to attack Checchia’s forehand side consistently and break down that wing. Checchia worked hard to cover all the court and force Bohren to keep hitting extra shots. Over the course of the set, the Spaniard’s defense withstood the attacks coming from the other side of the net, and Checchia won the match to give Hawai`i Hilo the title.
 
“Luca is the player for this type of match. He’s best suited for these situations, and has been in that role for us before in regionals two years ago, earlier that year against Azusa at the PacWest semifinals as well. So having him there, I believe in him, and I know he believes in himself. He had everyone around him that whole third set, and I think this win shows how hard he fights for his team.”
 
The Vulcans became the first NCAA Division II team this year to defeat Azusa Pacific. They also became the first team other than Hawai`i Pacific or Azusa Pacific to win the PacWest Championships, and the Vulcans defeated both of those teams on consecutive days in the process.
 
“Our program has gotten a lot stronger over the years, and our conference has gotten a lot stronger,” Mizuguchi said. “When I was a player, this was the dream, and now as a coach, winning conference was my dream. Today it came true.”
 
Hawai`i Pacific also won a crucial match to keep its season alive, beating No. 4 seed Concordia 4-3 in the third-place match. The Sharks needed a win in order to qualify for the NCAA West Regionals. Well aware of what was at stake, Hawai`i Pacific did just what it needed to make sure that they will be competing again in two weeks at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Club.
 
The match score was tied 3-3 when Felix Einig won his match 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 to clinch the must-win match. Yassine Smiej won at No. 1 singles 6-3, 6-3 against Loccisano to tie the match’s overall score. Everyone went over to the No. 2 singles match where Einig battled against second-team All-PacWest selection Patrick Wong. It was the first meeting between the two players, and Einig got the job done for his team in the most important third-place match in the history of the tournament.
 
In the fifth-place match, Point Loma defeated Biola in another 4-3 match. Yuki Okamoto was the hero for the Sea Lions, winning a marathon 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 match at No. 2 singles to conclude his collegiate career with his most dramatic win.
 
Biola’s Isaac Cordova won his match in three sets 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 to tie the overall score and put the pressure on Okamoto to preserve the Sea Lion’s lead and clinch the win. Okamoto had missed part of the season with injuries that he had been dealing with all year that had prevented him from winning a singles match prior to Saturday’s fifth-place match. The senior got his first win of the year when his team needed it most, helping Point Loma wrap up the season with a victory.
 
In the seventh-place match, Colorado Mesa and MSU Denver met each other for the third time this season, and MSU Denver won again to conclude both team’s first year in the PacWest. MSU Denver won the match 4-1 when Billy McDermott clinched the win with his 6-2, 6-2 victory.
 
Colorado Mesa won the doubles point, including a record-breaking win Steven Howe and Jandre van Wyk at No. 2 doubles. The No. 2 singles match featured Steven Howe and Jack McDermott, who were facing each other for the fifth time. Just like in their previous meetings, the pair split the result with each one winning a set before MSU Denver clinched the victory.
 
The NCAA selection show will be on May 4 where teams will find out which four PacWest teams will compete in the NCAA West Regional as well as who they will be matched up against. April 23, 2021 | Surprise, Ariz. | Surprise Tennis & Racquet Club
 

Team Score
#1 Azusa Pacific (17-4)	3
#2 Hawai`i Hilo (8-2)	4

 

Doubles Scores
1.	Jakob Schnaitter	Leyton Bohren	APU	6	0
	Martin Soukal	Santiago Di Loreto	UHH	2	0
2.	Ryan Nuno	Sam Sippel	APU	6	0
	Joshua Liu	Luca Checchia	UHH	3	0
3.	Dylan Parsley	Ethan Smith	APU	5	0
	Chun En Wu	Alessio Demichelis	UHH	4	0

  Order of Finish: 1, 2
 

Singles Scores
1.	Jakob Schnaitter	APU		3	3
	Martin Soukal	UHH		6	6
2.	Sam Sippel	APU		5	6	4
	Alessio Demichelis	UHH		7	3	6
3.	Ryan Nuno	APU		6	6
	Chun En Wu	UHH		2	2
4.	Leyton Bohren	APU		77	5	5
	Luca Checchia	UHH		62	7	7
5.	Ian Lee	APU		2	3
	Joshua Liu	UHH		6	6
6.	Cole Rassner	APU		6	5	6
	Santiago Di Loreto	UHH		2	7	4

Order of Finish: 3, 1, 5, 2, 6

Third Place Match - 1 p.m. (Pacific)
vs.

Team Score
#3 Hawai`i Pacific (4-4)	4
#4 Concordia (9-7)	3

 

Doubles Scores
1.	Benjamin Loccisano	Marcel Hornung	HPU	6	0
	Yassine Smiej	Mike Jansen	CUI	3	0
2.	Felix Einig	Cheng Chieh Wang	HPU	6	0
	Jan Simon	Patrick Wong	CUI	0	0
3.	Kilian Maitre	Ryohei Arai	HPU	4	0
	Benjamin Buck	Gertjan DeWilder	CUI	3	0

  Order of Finish: 2, 1
 

Singles Scores
1.	Benjamin Loccisano	HPU		3	3
	Yassine Smiej	CUI		6	6
2.	Felix Einig	HPU		6	3	6
	Patrick Wong	CUI		2	6	4
3.	Kilian Maitre	HPU		4	4
	Jan Simon	CUI		6	6
4.	Marcel Hornung	HPU		3	3
	Benjamin Buck	CUI		6	6
5.	Ryohei Arai	HPU		6	6
	Mike Jansen	CUI		4	0
6.	Cheng Chieh Wang	HPU		6	6
	Sofian Tayebi	CUI		3	3	0

 Order of Finish: 5, 6, 4, 3, 1, 2

Fifth Place Match - 1 p.m. (Pacific)
 vs.  

Team Score
#5 Point Loma (5-10)	4
#7 Biola (10-9)	3

 

Doubles Scores
1.	Tyler Davis	Yuki Okamoto	PLNU	2	0
	Alexei Prokopchuk	Antonio Rosales Varona	Biola	6	0
2.	Alejandro Castaneda	Lukas Schuster	PLNU	5	0
	Sebastian Herrera	Erik Martinez	Biola	6	0
3.	Jasdeep Paintal	David Strassburger	PLNU	4	0
	Isaac Cordova	Alex Sedeno	Biola	6	0

  Order of Finish: 1, 3
 

Singles Scores
1.	Tyler Davis	PLNU		6	6
	Alexei Prokopchuk	Biola		1	1
2.	Yuki Okamoto	PLNU		2	6	7
	Sebastian Herrera	Biola		6	4	5
3.	David Strassburger	PLNU		3	4
	Antonio Rosales Varona	Biola		6	6
4.	Alejandro Castaneda	PLNU		4	6	3
	Isaac Cordova	Biola		6	1	6
5.	Lukas Schuster	PLNU		6	7
	Alex Sedeno	Biola		4	5
6.	Jasdeep Paintal	PLNU		6	6
	Erik Martinez	Biola		2	4	0

 Order of Finish: 1, 3, 6, 5, 4, 2

Seventh Place Match - 1 p.m. (Pacific)
 vs.   

Team Score
#6 MSU Denver (7-10)	0
#8 Colorado Mesa (9-9)	1

 

Doubles Scores
1.	Daniel Llorente	Mateo Besada	MSUD	3	0
	Christian Albrechtsen	Tyler Landen	CMU	6	0
2.	Jack McDermott	David Kijak	MSUD	3	0
	Steven Howe	Jandre van Wyk	CMU	6	0
3.	Billy McDermott	Alejandro Martinez-Morilla	MSUD	6	0
	Moises Cure	Thiago Nejm	CMU	3	0

  Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2
 

Singles Scores
1.	Daniel Llorente	MSUD		6	6
	Christian Albrechtsen	CMU		4	2
2.	Jack McDermott	MSUD		6	2	0
	Steven Howe	CMU		3	6	0
3.	Alejandro Martinez-Morilla	MSUD		6	6
	Tyler Landen	CMU		3	1
4.	David Kijak	MSUD		7	3
	Moises Cure	CMU		5	2
5.	Mateo Besada	MSUD		6	6
	Jandre van Wyk	CMU		1	2
6.	Billy McDermott	MSUD		6	6
	Thiago Nejm	CMU		2	2	0

 Order of Finish: 3, 5, 1, 6