HILO, Hawaiʻi — Hawaiʻi Pacific opened its season with a hard-fought 4-3 victory over Hawai'i Hilo on Friday morning at the UHH Tennis Courts, edging the Vulcans in a tightly contested men's tennis match against a conference rival.

The Sharks (1-0) secured the crucial doubles point to set the tone early. Seth Newman and Yannick Heitzeberg earned a 6-3 win at No. 1 doubles, and Arthur Pery paired with Rene Gabriel Jung to match that score at No. 3, giving HPU a 1-0 advantage heading into singles play.

Hawai'i Hilo responded with wins at the top of the singles lineup, but HPU countered with key victories in the middle and bottom of the order. Adam Vasir cruised to a straight-set win at No. 3 singles, 6-3, 6-3, while Pery added another point for the Sharks with a 6-4, 6-3 victory at No. 5.

The match came down to No. 6 singles, where Jung delivered the deciding point. After dropping the first set, he rallied to win a tiebreak in the second before closing out the match in the third to clinch the season-opening win for HPU.

With the victory, the Sharks opened the spring slate on a positive note, showing depth and resilience across the lineup in a competitive road matchup. The Sharks will run it back tomorrow, facing Hilo again at 10 a.m.