SAN FRANCISCO – The No. 4 Hawai'i Pacific University women grabbed their sixth straight win by outlasting No. 6 Academy of Art 5-4 on Tuesday at the San Francisco Tennis Club.
 
The Sharks (6-0) trailed in a match for the first time this season, as the Urban Knights (5-2) led HPU 2-1 after doubles play.
 
The match very well may have been won in doubles action as the 11th ranked HPU duo of Lara Meccico and Barbora Kijasova needed a tiebreaker to beat Maria Andrisani and Taisiia Andrieiva 8-7 (7-4) at No. 2, the only doubles point the Sharks claimed.
 
ArtU's sixth ranked doubles pair of sisters Alam and Klara Thell-Lenntorp beat HPU's Lena Lutzeier and Oceane Adam 8-3 at No. 1. The Urban Knights took the No. 3 doubles as well with Monika Stanikova and Paula Alcantara beating Leticia Gonzales dos Santos and Heloise Le Normand 8-2.
 
The Sharks rallied back in singles, as No. 21 Adam downed No. 28 Klara Thell-Lentorp 6-2, 6-1 at No. 3 to tie the match, then Le Normand beat Alcantara 6-1, 6-1 at No. 6 to take the lead.
 
HPU extended the lead to 4-1 as ninth ranked Lutzeier beat Staniova 6-2, 6-3. But the Urban Knights answered with a win at No. 5 with Alma Thell-Lenntorp beating HPU's Debora Echeverria 6-3, 6-4.
 
The last two points went to three sets.
 
The Sharks took the match when 10th ranked Lara Meccico came back to beat Andrisani 6-0, 3-6, 6-3 at No. 2 singles for the fifth point. ArtU claimed the final point at No. 4 singles as Andrieieva defeated Kijasova 6-4, 4-6, 10-8 to put the final at 5-4.
 
The match was the first of a seven-match mainland road trip. The fourth ranked Sharks face No. 16 Sonoma State on Wednesday in a scheduled 9 a.m. HST (11 a.m. PST) start in San Francisco.