The third-ranked Hawaii Pacific University men’s tennis team swept Sonoma State 4-0 in the NCAA Division II West Regional I on Sunday at the Kailua Racquet Club.

The Sharks (16-4) began the duel by winning the doubles point over the Seawolves (9-7). Valentin Masse and Maxime Gayte scored a 6-2 win at No. 1 and the clincher came at No. 3 when Benjamin Loccisano and Ondrej Ctverak won 6-4.

Loccisano continued his strong doubles play by winning his singles match 6-1, 6-2 to give HPU a 2-0 lead for the duel. A few minutes later, Bauer recorded a 6-1, 6-1 victory as HPU took a 3-0 lead. Lucas Poock’s 6-3, 6-3 victory at No. 6 singles gave HPU the 4-0 victory.

With the win, HPU advanced into the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division II National Championships on May 21 in Altamonte Springs, Fla. The Sharks’ opponent will be determined after the bracket is seeded later this week.

>>Also on Sunday, the 15th-ranked Hawaii Hilo men’s tennis advanced to the Sweet 16 with a 5-1 preliminary round victory over No. 21 Azusa Pacific at the Fairmont Orchid in Kohala.

In the third match of the year between the Pacific West Conference members, Azusa Pacific took the first point as the Cougars won two of the three doubles matches, both in tiebreakers.

The Vulcans (13-4) got on the board with Alessandro Giuliato’s 6-1, 6-1 victory. Giuliato remained unbeaten for the year as he moved to 13-0. Hawaii Hilo took a 2-1 lead with a 6-3, 6-4 win behind Martin Soukal as the PacWest freshman of the year improved his 2019 record to 14-1. Arturo Dell’Eva pushed the Cougars to the brink of elimination as he won his singles match, 6-4, 6-1 to give UHH a 3-1 lead in the duel. Luca Checchia’s 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 win in No. 6 singles gave the Vulcans the duel victory, 4-1. Chun En Wu’s victory in No. 4 singles produced the final score, 5-1 in favor of Hawaii Hilo.

This marks the second straight season Hawaii Hilo advanced to the Sweet 16. Azusa Pacific’s season ended at 23-4.