UH’s Andre Ilagan advances to round of 32 in NCAA tennis

Hawaii’s Andre Ilagan didn’t let a lengthy rain relay and a change of venue bother him as he advanced to round of 32 at the NCAA Division I Men’s Tennis Singles Championships by taking down Michigan’s Patrick Maloney 6-3, 6-3 in Monday’s round of 64 matchup.

The match was moved into one of the USTA National Campus’ indoor courts after heavy rains and a red alert prevented the afternoon matches from being played outside.

Ilagan, ranked 65th in the nation, dropped the first game to No. 44 Maloney but bounced back to claim the next four games to take a 4-1 lead in the first set. Ilagan and Maloney split the last four games of the set, with Ilagan claiming the final game to clinch the 6-3 win.

Ilagan never trailed in the second set. He claimed the first game, but Maloney tied it up at 1-1 with an ace to end the second game. Ilagan took game three, and Maloney tied it up again in game four. The rest of the set was all Ilagan. He won games five, six and eight to go up 5-3 and set up a chance to serve for the match win. After being tied 15-15, Ilagan scored the final points to clinch game nine 6-3 and finish the sweep over Maloney.

Ilagan improved to 17-3 this season, extending his win streak to 16. He will take on 54th-ranked Siam Woldeab of Texas today at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla. Woldeab upset 12th-ranked Garrett Johns of Duke.