The University of Hawai’i men’s tennis team clinched its first victory of the season holding off Gonzaga, 4-3 on Friday afternoon at the UH Tennis Complex.
The Rainbow Warriors evened their record to 1-1, while the Bulldogs fell to 0-2. UH freshman Kent Mueller clinched the doubles point with partner Hikaru Takahashi and later Mueller outlasted Gonzaga’s Tom Dunlap in a three-set battle to record the match-clinching win. The Rainbow Warriors were locked in against the Bulldogs in a match where five of the six singles matches went to three sets.
Hawai’i captured the doubles point to start the match. UH’s duo of Toa Maeda and Azuma Visaya held off Gonzaga’s Nicholas Reeves and Oscar Rashed by a break to notch a 6-4 victory on the No. 2 court. On the No. 3 court, Hawai’i’s freshmen duo of Mueller and Takahashi seized the doubles point by defeating GU’s Gus Krauel and Diego Herrera, 6-3. The third match between UH’s No. 1 Timothy Li/Kosuke Nakanishim and Gonzaga’s Giovanni Branchetti/Jay Fairclough went unfinished with UH leading 5-4.
In singles, Visaya came out on fire, sweeping his No. 1 match over Branchetti, 6-1, 6-4. For Visaya, it marked his second-straight victory to start the new year. UH’s Li won his first set over GU’s Oscar Rashed, but Rashed rallied to win the final two sets for the win, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2. UH’s No. 6 Takahashi clawed his way back after dropping the first set to down GU’s Herrera, 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 to give UH a 3-1 lead.
Gonzaga, however would not go down without a fight. The Bulldogs tied the match at 3-3 with a pair of three-set wins on the No. 4 and 2 courts.
Hawai’i’s No. 5 Mueller dropped a first set tie-breaker against Gonzaga’s Dunlop. But Mueller fought his way back to win the final two sets for the clutch, come-from-behind win, 1-6, 6-3, 6-1. Mueller jumped out to a commanding 5-0 lead in the final frame before he was able to put away Dunlop for the win.
The Rainbow Warriors have a quick turnaround as they take on Washington for their third dual match in four days. UH will face on the Huskies on Saturday, January 10th at 4:00 p.m. at the UH Tennis Complex.
Hawaii 4, Gonzaga 3
Jan 09, 2026 at Honolulu, O’ahu
(UH Tennis Complex)
