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Hawaiian Airline PacWest Women's Tennis Championship begins today
Journey for the 2009 Hawaiian Airlines PacWest Women's Tennis
Championship begins today
KAILUA-KONA, HI - The
Hawaiian Airlines Pacific West Conference Women's Tennis
Championship begins at 9 a.m. HT on Thursday, April 9, at the Holua
Resort
at Mauna Loa Village in Kailua-Kona, HI.
At 9 a.m. top-seed BYU-Hawaii takes on 8th-seed Notre Dame de
Namur. At 11 a.m., 2nd-seed Hawai‘i Pacific battles #7 Dixie
State.
The 1 p.m. match features 3rd-seed and host institution Hawai‘i Hilo vs. first-year program Academy of Art which has grabbed the 6th-seed, while the final match of the day pits #4 Grand Canyon against #5 Chaminade a 3 p.m.
The winners of the 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. matches square off at 9
a.m. on Friday
morning, April 10, while the losers play at 1 p.m. The winners of
the 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.
contests will play each other at 11 a.m. Friday, while the losers
face off at 3 p.m.
On Saturday, April 11, the championship match will be played at 9
a.m. followed
by the third-place contest at 11 a.m. Fifth place will be contested
at 1 p.m. with seventh place closing out the three-day tournament
at 3 p.m.
In the most recent ITA/NCAA Division II National Rankings,
BYU-Hawaii is the number one team in the nation and the top team in
the West Region.
The PacWest currently has four teams listed in the Top 8 in the West Region - the threshold for earning a berth in the NCAA Division II National Championships. The next rankings will be released on May 5.
Hawai‘i Pacific is ranked third, while Hawai‘i Hilo stands fifth, leaving both schools on solid footing for a post-season invitation.
The most interesting match of the first round could be Grand Canyon vs. Chaminade. Grand Canyon is eighth in the region while Chaminade is positioned ninth. The result of Thursday's match could go a long way into deciding a post-season bid.
Although not eligible for the NCAA II Tournament this year, Academy of Art is ranked 10th in the region during its inaugural season of athletic competition.
