HONOLULU – The No. 7 Hawai'i Pacific University women suffered another tight loss to a Division I opponent on Sunday as Army West Point beat HPU 4-2 at the University of Hawai'i Tennis Center.
 
The Sharks (5-3), seventh in the ITA Division II poll, dropped their third straight match of the season, while the Black Knights (14-4) stretched their winning streak to eight. 
 
Army won a hotley contested doubles point, taking No. 3 with Anna Laureiro and MaryJo Pidgeon beating HPU's Marta Ruszczynska and Olivia Kjaer 6-2 for the first half. But the second half of the point came down to a tiebreak win at No. 1, while the No. 2s were deadlocked in a tiebreaker when the point was won. The Black Knights' top due of Cooper Jackson and Paige Herremans edged the Sharks Shaline Pipa and Marleen Tilgner 7-6. The No. 2 had HPU's Elodie Busson and Mihoki Miyahara tied with Caroline Vincent and Justine Dondonay 6-6 and tied in the tiebreak 4-4 when unfinished with Army up 1-0.
 
The singles were nearly as tight as well.
 
Army went up 2-0 when Herremans beat Rikona Murakami 6-0, 6-3 at No. 6, only to have HPU come back. At No. 1, Pipa beat Vincent 6-1, 6-2, then Miyahara blitzed Dondonay 6-3, 6-0 to tie the match at 2-all. But at No. 2 Busson fell to Jackson 6-4 in the first set and held a lead in the second until the very end when Jackson won the tiebreak to take the set and point 7-6.
 
But it would come down to the No. 3 and No. 5 positions that split sets. At No. 3 Ruszczynska took the first 6-3 against Carolyn Ahn, only to have her respond with a 6-3 win in set two. The deciding set went to Ahn 6-4 to clinch the match for the Black Knights. Going opposite that match was No. 3 singles, where Tilgner lost the first set to Paola Bou 6-4 and came back with a 6-2 victory in set two. The final set was tied at 4-4 when the match was clinched. The position went unfinished.
 
The Sharks leave Oahu for the first time this week, returning to Division II competition in California starting with a neutral site match against Fresno Pacific in Sunnyvale, Calif., on Wednesday. The match is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. at the Sunnyvale Tennis Center.