No. 11 Academy of Art versus No. 2 Hawaii Pacific Final Results

SURPRISE, Ariz. – In their third match in Arizona, No. 11 Academy of Art went up against No. 2 Hawaii Pacific in the season's biggest match-to-date: the PacWest Championship Final.
 
In the program's second appearance in the championship match, the Urban Knights took two doubles matches from the Sharks and they headed to singles with a 2-1 lead. HPU quickly evened the score with wins in the first and second positions and then took a 4-2 lead when sophomore Mariacristina Andrisani fell in third singles. Andrisani did not go out without a fight however: after dropping the first set 6-0, she kept things close in the second, but ultimately lost the set 6-4. It was then junior Alma Thell-Lenntorp who responded to HPU with a 6-3, 6-1 win in the fifth position to make the score 4-3 in favor of the Sharks.
 
At that point, all eyes turned to No. 4 and No. 6 singles where juniors Taisiia Andrieieva and Paula Alcantara were playing in their respective matches. Both had won the first set at that point with Andrieieva taking her set 7-5 and Alcantara winning 6-2. In Andrieieva's second set, she was leading 3-1 early on, but HPU's Debora Echeverria won five-consecutive games to take the set 6-3. In Alcantara's contest, she continued to trade games with the Sharks' Barbora Kijasova and they were tied as late as 5-5. However, Kijasova won the next two games to force things into a decisive, third set.
 
Now, both Andrieieva and Alcantara found themselves in a third set which could ultimately decide the PacWest champion. Andrieieva traded games with Echeverria to begin the set and they found themselves tied 1-1 in the early-goings. However, the Odessa, Ukraine native won the next two games to take a 3-1 lead. Meanwhile, Alcantara trailed 3-1 to open her final set, but a 3-game win streak put her ahead 4-3. However, Kijasova returned the favor, winning three unanswered games of her own to clinch the match 5-3, awarding Hawaii Pacific their first-ever PacWest title.
 
Despite being narrowly edged by the Sharks, ART U remained resilient throughout the entire contest and claimed second place in the conference which is tied for the program's highest finish.
 
"In all honesty, this was one of the most emotional matches that I've ever experienced," said head coach Clarisse Baca. "There was a lot of team effort on both sides and I think that we just came up a little bit short at the end. We need to believe that we belong in these matches which will allow us to finish them out. However, I am very pleased with our effort throughout the tournament and the girls are eager to get another chance to get back on the court to try to go to Nationals. I am very proud to be a part of this team."
 
With the PacWest Championship now at an end, Academy of Art will now wait until they hear from the NCAA National Committee if they will move on to the regional match.