The Brigham Young-Hawaii and Hawaii Pacific men's tennis teams had hoped to meet each other this season with the national title on the line -- just not so soon. BYUH, HPU hold
court 1 more timeBy Brandon Lee
blee@starbulletin.comWith both securing first-round victories yesterday at the Division II national championship tournament at Kansas City, Mo., the top-ranked Seasiders (25-1) will meet the sixth-ranked Sea Warriors (15-2) today in the quarterfinals at the Homestead Country Club for a berth in tomorrow's semifinals.
The Seasiders beat Assumption College 5-0, while the Sea Warriors blanked the Colorado School of Mines.
But it was a duel in the finals that the coaches and players from both squads had envisioned for their fourth meeting of the year -- from early on in the season and even through regional play last weekend. After all, HPU and BYUH have been the only two teams to hold the top spot in the poll this year (the Seasiders took over No. 1 on March 1) and their only Division II losses this season came against each other.
"I don't think either of us hoped that we played each other that early on," HPU coach Henry Somerville said. "I really think we're the top two teams in the nation."
But the NCAA seeding committee didn't see it that way. The committee did not even see fit to give HPU a No. 4 seed and a potential shot at BYUH in the semifinals -- much less a No. 2 or No. 3 seed and a chance to be on the opposite side of the draw.
Instead of the chance for an all-Hawaii final, it's BYUH-HPU on the tournament's second day, with the loser having to say "aloha" to its season and national championship aspirations sooner than planned.
"For (HPU) to play the No. 1 (seed) is a bad draw for them and a tough draw for us," BYUH coach Dave Porter said. "Whoever wins the match would have a good chance of making it through to the final.
"Only one team will be able to advance and that is unfortunate. I know if we win, they'll be cheering for us, and if they win, we'll do the same for them. But we're disappointed in not having the option of meeting HPU in the final."
Both are seeking their first national title. BYUH finished fourth last year in its first trip to the tournament, while HPU has been the national runner-up the past two seasons.
"We know we'll have to play really well to beat them, and they'll have to play really well to beat us," Somerville said. "I think the one thing we really have on our side after the last two years is that my guys know what it will take to win this tournament."
BYUH women looking for another title: The top-ranked Seasider women have quietly put together another winning streak and positioned themselves for a chance at yet another national title.
When all the noise generated from their unprecedented 103-match winning streak was suddenly silenced last season after losing to Lynn University (Fla.) in the national final, the Seasiders returned this year focused on getting back to their championship ways.
The winners of national titles in four of the past five years (NAIA 1997-98, NCAA Division II 1999-2000) have so far been successful. BYUH has strung together 26 straight wins this season after their first-round victory over Northern Michigan yesterday at the women's Division II national championship tournament, also held at Kansas City through Sunday.
"I would much rather be us playing the other teams, than the other teams playing us, right now," Porter said. "That loss last year was really a motivation for (my players) to get back and win this year. They're certainly not unbeatable, but someone will have to play very good tennis to do it."
In today's quarterfinals, BYUH will meet Abilene Christian (21-6) for a spot in tomorrow's semis, where a potential rematch with Lynn awaits.
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