No. 6 Academy of Art versus No. 4 Hawaii Pacific Final Results
 

SAN FRANCISCO – Tuesday morning's women's tennis match marked the biggest so far this season as No. 4 Hawaii Pacific came to San Francisco for the first time since Academy of Art hosted the Sharks in the 2015 NCAA West Regional. Despite an intense battle from both sides, HPU managed to edge the Urban Knights by the score of 5-4.
 
HPU entered the contest with an undefeated, 5-0 record and they had yet to lose a doubles match. However, the Urban Knights were quick to change that statistic, nearly sweeping the entire category. No. 6-ranked juniors Alma Thell-Lenntorp and Klara Thell-Lenntorp made quick work of their opponents in the first position, taking the match 8-3 for the twins' first doubles win against the Sharks in five matchups. Juniors Monika Stanikova and Paula Alcantara also looked strong in their contest, only dropping two games in their 8-2 victory.
 
Entering the singles portion of the contest, Academy of Art needed only three wins to come away victorious, but they would have to fight their way through three ranked opponents. Sophomore Mariacristina Andrisani nearly took down No. 10 Lara Meccico in the second position as she won the second set, but eventually fell in the third (0-6, 6-3, 3-6).
 
The two Knights to come away with victories were A. Thell-Lenntorp and junior Taisiia Andrieieva. Alma won in straight sets, taking her match in fifth singles 6-3, 6-4, but it took until the super tiebreaker for Andrieieva to claim her win: Taisiia initially won the first set 6-3, but dropped a close second by the score of 4-6. Entering the tiebreaker, the Odessa, Ukraine native quickly found herself behind, but her perseverance prevailed as she pulled away for the 10-8 victory.
 
The Urban Knights will now continue their busy week as they host Concordia on March 8 and Cal State LA on March 10.