The University of Hawai’i women’s tennis team improved its record to 4-4 overall and 2-0 in the Big West Conference after defeating Long Beach State 5-2 on Saturday at the UH Tennis Complex in Honolulu. The Rainbow Wahine lost the doubles point but recovered by winning five out of six singles matches.
In doubles, Grete Gull and Sophie Rachor secured a 6-3 win over Cecilia Costa and Paulina Franco Martinessi for Hawai’i. The decisive match was on Court No. 3, where Makeilah Nepomuceno and Hannah Galindo came back from a three-game deficit to tie at 5-5 before losing 7-5 to Thea Jagare and Pamela Badillo, giving Long Beach State the doubles point.
During singles play, Allaire Berl gave Hawai’i its first point with a straight sets victory over Daisy Carpenter, winning 6-1, 6-0. Emma Forgac followed with a 6-1, 7-5 win against Thea Jagare. Gull added another point by defeating Cecilia Costa in three sets: 6-3, 4-6, 6-1. Galindo clinched the match for Hawai’i with a close win over Pamela Badillo, finishing both sets at 7-5. Nepomuceno earned an additional point after beating Diana De Simone in three sets: 6-3, 2-6, 6-1.
Long Beach State’s only singles victory came from Paulina Franco Martinessi who defeated Sophie Rachor in three sets.
The Rainbow Wahine will continue their homestand next weekend when they host Bucknell at the UH Tennis Complex. The match is scheduled for a first serve at 1:00 p.m. HT.
