HONOLULU – Dominican women's tennis got off to a strong start in doubles but ultimately fell 4-1 Sunday afternoon to No. 13 Hawai'i Pacific at Kailua Racquet Club.

"As a team we were disappointed we did not come away with the overall win, but I'm extremely proud of how we competed to win the doubles point," head coach Cristina Visico Hassanali said. "We knew we were playing an experienced team and we focused on coming out with lots of energy, doing the basics well and knowing our strengths. This helped us have a strong start in doubles. HPU came out on fire in the top four singles, but we battled at positions five and six. Each match we are getting more confident in our games and hope to finish strong tomorrow."

Haley Garcia and Gigi Alajeely got the Penguins (1-3) off to a strong start in the match as they topped Rikona Murakami and Olivia Kjaer 6-3 in No. 3 doubles. The Sharks (4-0) responded seconds later as Marleen Tilgner and Shaline Pipa took the 6-2 win in No. 1 doubles. Zoe Coggins and Julia Rydel battled HPU's Marta Ruszczynska and Valentina Mokrova with the doubles point hinging on the result of the second court. Coggins and Rydel broke early and pulled away with each passing game to take the match 6-3 and give Dominican the point.

The Sharks responded in singles as Pipa handed Audrey Rafols the first singles loss of her collegiate career with the 6-2, 6-1 victory to tie the team score. Elodie Busson added a 6-0, 6-2 victory in No. 2 single and Tilgner added a 6-0, 6-1 victory on the third court to put HPU within one team point of the match victory. Ruszczynska sealed that victory moments later winning 6-0 in the first set and then using an early break to hold on for the 6-4 victory in the second set over Alajeely. Rydel held a strong lead in No. 5 singles with Coggins knotted 5-5 in No. 6 singles when the winning point was scored leaving their matches unfinished.

Dominican will conclude its Hawaii trip Monday against Chaminade at noon HST at Ke'ehi Lagoon Park Tennis Courts.