Box Score KAILUA-KONA, Hawai'i – No. 15 Hawai'i Pacific University opened the season on a strong note, defeating UC San Diego 5-2 on Saturday at the Houla Tennis Center.
 
The Sharks (1-0) never trailed in the match to the Tritons (1-3).
 
HPU grabbed two of the three doubles matches to earn the doubles point. Lukas Bauer and Cheng-Chieh Wang won at No. 2 over Mac Isaia and Neil Tengbumroong 6-1, with Ondrej Ctverak and Benjamin Loccisano downing Marius Ruh and David Higgins 6-2 at No. 3. The Triton won the No. 1 doubles set with Sreeganesh Manoharan and Zachary Ermert edging HPU's Maxime Gayte and Valentin Masses 7-6 (7-1) in the tiebreaker.
 
The Sharks swept the top three singles spots in winning four of the six positions.
 
Masse, ranked 31st nationally, took the No. 1 spot for HPU with a 6-0, 7-5 win against Isaia. Ctverak ripped Sahm Irvine 6-0, 6-2 at No. 2, and Wang erased Tengbumroong with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 triumph at No. 3. The Sharks also won at No. 5 with Loccisano downing Manoharan 6-2, 6-3.
 
UCSD won its only points after the Sharks had clinched the match, winning three-set tiebreakers. Ermert edged Gayte at No. 4 7-6 (7-3), 2-6, 11-9, and Ruh defeated Bauer at No. 6 6-7 (7-3), 6-3, 10-5.
 
The Sharks continue their action at the Houla Tennis Center on Sunday, facing Holy Names.