SAN DIEGO — No. 2 Point Loma Nazarene tennis defeated No. 3 Hawai‘i Pacific, 4–2 at the Point Loma tennis courts on Friday to clinch a spot in the NCAA Division II Championships beginning May 19 in Surprise, Ariz.
Point Loma grabbed the early advantage by taking the doubles point, winning two of three flights. Perla Conde Vendrell / Alina Kupfer topped Tereza Ohnoutkova / Willow Dymkowski 6–2 at No. 2 doubles, and Melissa Zirkle / Zoe Moley closed out Kaia Sperry / Kayleigh Castillo 6–2 at No. 3 doubles; Hawai‘i Pacific won the No. 1 doubles flight 6–0, but the Sea Lions’ doubles success gave them the edge.
In singles, Kupfer delivered a steady performance at No. 1 with a 6–4, 6–3 victory over Evi Roobol to extend PLNU’s lead. Hawai‘i Pacific answered at No. 2 and No. 3. Tereza Ohnoutkova edged Emely Valencia Andrejeva 6–3, 4–6, 6–2, and Kayleigh Castillo beat Anna Pallencaoe 6–4, 6–3, to knot the match at 2–2. At No. 6, Zirkle provided a huge lift, winning 7–6, 7–6 over Willow Dymkowski to put Point Loma back in front. Moley then clinched the team victory with a gritty 6–2, 4–6, 6–3 win at No. 5 over Rosa Viller Moeller, sealing the 4–2 final. The official box score lists the order of finish in singles as Nos. 1, 3, 6, 2, 5.
With the win, Point Loma improved to 18–4 on the season while Hawai‘i Pacific finished 16–6.
“I mean just the ladies battling, staying mentally strong, playing every point with the commitment, determination that they have all year long,” said head coach Curt Wheeler. “It's just been more of the same.”
On returning to the NCAA Championships for a second straight year, he said, “It means a lot… these ladies have been incredible the last couple years. I’m just really proud of how they come every day ready to go with the mindset that we're going to beat any team we play.”
“I think the key to winning this match was to fight on every point,” said Moley. “It was insane running to my teammates and them cheering so loud for me. So excited to stay another two weeks with my teammates and have fun and fight for going as far as we can.”
Point Loma now heads to the NCAA Division II Championships with momentum from a season of close, battle-tested matches and a roster that has repeatedly shown resilience in pressure moments.
Top photo credit: Shannon Hardy, Point Loma Nazarene University Athletics
