OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – Cameron's men's tennis match against No. 9 Hawaii Pacific came down to just one point with CU falling to the ranked Sharks 4-3 on Wednesday afternoon.
 
The Aggies are coming off a tough loss to the top ranked JUCO squad Tyler Junior College and looking to rebound against another ranked opponent in Division II top-10 ranked HPU.
 
Wednesday's match opened with the Sharks taking two of the doubles matches to secure, ultimately, the deciding point in the match. CU's two losses came at two and three where both the duo of Bruno Vietri and Maycon Dias and the pairing of Jesus Villamizar and Oscar del Granado lost 6-1. At No. 1, the Aggies top doubles team of Julen Gutierrez and Pierre Marion was down 4-3 to their HPU counterparts before the other two matches ended doubles play.
 
In singles, Cameron got wins at two, three, and four from a trio of reliable returners. After losing at five, CU got their first point as del Granado's opponent was forced to retire at No. 2. They then tied the match at 2-2 thanks to a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 win from Marion at the three spot. The Sharks won the ranked battle at the top spot, with No. 44 Benjamin Loccisano beating the No. 28 ranked Vietri 6-2, 4-6, 6-1.
 
Cameron needed wins at four and six to secure the upset. Gutierrez picked up a big win at No. 4, winning 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 to tie the match again, 3-3. At No. 6, Villamizar responded from a 6-1 set-one loss to win the second 6-4. He battled in the third, but ended up losing 7-5, as HPU came away with the match victory.
 
The now 2-3 Aggies next test will be a quartet of matches against regional opponents in Wichita Falls, Texas, March 6-8. Both the CU men and women will face off against Metro State, Colorado Mesa, Colorado State-Pueblo, and Southwest Baptist on the campus of Midwestern State.
 

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#9 Hawaii Pacific 4, Cameron 3
2/26/2020 at Oklahoma City, OK
Singles competition
1. #44 Benjamin Loccisano (HPU) def. #28 Bruno Vietri (CU) 6-2, 4-6, 6-1
2. Oscar del Granado (CU) def. Ondrej Ctverak (HPU) 3-6, 6-6, retired
3. Pierre Marion (CU) def. Marcel Hornung (HPU) 4-6, 6-2, 6-2
4. Julen Gutierrez (CU) def. Ryohei Arai (HPU) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
5. Matej Panik (HPU) def. Maycon Dias (CU) 6-4, 6-4
6. Cheng-Chieh Wang (HPU) def. Jesus Villamizar (CU) 6-1, 4-6, 7-5
 
Doubles competition
1. Ondrej Ctverak/Matej Panik (HPU) def. Julen Gutierrez/Pierre Marion (CU) 4-3
2. Marcel Hornung/Benjamin Loccisano (HPU) def. Bruno Vietri/Maycon Dias (CU) 6-1
3. Ryohei Arai/Cheng-Chieh Wang (HPU) def. Jesus Villamizar/Oscar del Granado (CU) 6-1
 
Match Notes
Hawaii Pacific 5-3; National ranking #9
Cameron 2-3
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (5,2,3,1,6,4)
Played at Freedom Fitness in OKC