Second straight
title for BYUHThe Seasiders beat rival
Hawaii Pacific for the men's crown
ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. >> The Brigham Young-Hawaii men's tennis team won its second straight NCAA Division II championship today, beating island rival Hawaii Pacific 5-4.
As has been the case on the local collegiate tennis scene for the past two years, the title was decided between Hawaii's two best singles players, Jan Krejci of Brigham Young-Hawaii and Mikael Maatta of Hawaii Pacific.
Krejci beat the Swede for the seventh time in eight tries in what may have been their best match to date. With the team score tied at four, the hopes of both schools rested on one match -- Krejci and Maatta, who were tied at 2 in a decisive third set.
"It was a lot of fun," Maatta said. "They may have had the mental edge today, but it was a hard fought battle. Congratulations to BYU."
Maatta did not win a game the rest of the way, allowing the nation's No. 1 player to reel off four straight games, winning 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 and keeping the trophy on the north shore.
"They are both wonderful players," BYUH coach Dave Porter said.
"If I could take one player off their team it would be Maatta, he is such a class guy, but I think Jan has demonstrated he's the best player in the nation. If I have to have a match come down to one player, I want the ball on Krejci's racquet."
The Seasiders got an early edge in the competition by winning two of the three doubles matches to break the Sea Warriors' spell. HPU had not lost a doubles match throughout the tournament, using the team play to upset the Nos. 1, 3 and 4 ranked teams in the country.
But Krejci and Pater Madarassy beat Maatta and Gabor Jaross in a tight 9-7 decision and Daouda Ndaiye and Wen Lung Chang took out HPU's Jan Tribler and Blaz Jurjec 8-5.
"I think they get a lot of energy from their doubles," Porter said of HPU's run after switching their lineup prior to the PacWest championships.
"Luckily, we have the No. 1 doubles team in the nation to take some of that momentum."
That left the Seasiders needing only to split the six singles matches to claim the title, but doing so proved to be easier said than done.
After winning five of the six first sets in singles, the Seasiders ran into a refreshed HPU squad.
The Sea Warriors fought back from the early deficits to win the lower matches with Sasa Pirc beating Chang 2-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4 and Tribler defeating an injured Ndaiye 6-3, 6-2. Gabor Jaross beat Jun Woong Yoon 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 to tie the match at four and leave it up to Maatta.
The Seasiders got their singles points from Madarassy, who beat Pampulov 7-5, 6-3, and Hong Tae Kim, who swept Jurjec 6-4, 6-3.