TYLER, TEXAS – UT Tyler tennis picked up two wins on Friday afternoon after both teams defeated Hawai'i Hilo at the Summers Tennis Center.
 
The Patriots women moved to 7-5 with the win, and the men are now 11-3.
 
WOMEN'S MATCH: #39 UT Tyler 5 | Hawai'I Hilo 2
 
The Patriots got out early and never looked back on their way to a big win over Hawai'i Hilo on Friday.
 
They got rolling in doubles immediately, sweeping all three lines to go up 1-0. Yona Bancarel and Natalia Gorzny took a 6-1 win in line #1, and Paula Castellanos and Claudia Di Leonardo followed with a 6-3 win in line #3. The sweep was secured by the efforts of Carla Rodier and Maria Antonio Ortega, who took a 7-5 win in line #2.
 
It was a lot of the same for the Patriots in singles, with Antonio Ortega starting things off in line #3. She would cruise to a 6-3, 6-2 win, only trailing for one game in both sets.
 
Castellanos kept it rolling in line #5, with her winning 6-1, 6-0, only dropping one game on the day to deliver the second point of the match.
 
The Vulcans got picked up their first point in line #4 due to retirement, but the Patriots poured in the winning point just minutes later as Bancarel cashed in the #1 line. She rolled to a 6-0 win in set one, and followed that up with a 6-3 win to post the winning point.
 
UT Tyler would add one more point in line #2, with Gorzny winning in straight sets in scores of 6-3, 7-5. The Vulcans added one final point in line #6, making the final score 5-2.
 
MEN'S MATCH: #4 UT Tyler 4 | Hawai'I Hilo 3
 
Just as they have all season, the Patriots posted a strong effort in singles to bounce back and take the match.
 
Trevor Short and Job Japelj got things going for the Patriots with a 6-4 win in the #3 doubles line, but Hawai'i Hilo bounced back with wins in the #1 and #2 lines to take an early 1-0 lead.
 
In singles, the Patriots would drop the opening match as the Vulcans kept up the pace with a win in the #2 line. Samuel Antwi and Carel Wessel would quickly level the match, with Antwi ripping a 6-2, 6-2 straight sets win and Wessel following just one minute later with a 6-1, 7-5 straight sets win.
 
Artiom Dorofeev in the #1 line fell into a back and forth battle in his first set, but battled back late and forced a tiebreaker that he would go on to win 7-5. He would follow with a dominant second set, securing his match in scores of 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 to put the Patriots out in front for the first time in the match.
 
UT Tyler got one final point from the #6 line, where Martin Despodov went into a three set battle. He would split his first two sets at 6-1, 2-6, but responded with a 6-2 third set that saw him go up 5-0 before surrendering his first game. That dominant final set would book the fourth and final point necessary for the win.
 
The Vulcans would add one more point in the #5 line, but it ultimately did not impact the final score.
 
UT Tyler will next be in action on March 28^th as they open up their LSC slate with a matchup against Lubbock Christian. That will be the first of two that weekend, as they will face off with UT Permian Basin on March 29^th.