PENSACOLA, Fla. – The No. 7 ranked Hawaii Pacific Sharks outlasted the No. 23 ranked Valdosta State Lady Blazers 8-1 in non-conference tennis action on Thursday in a neutral site match in Pensacola, Fla.
 
The loss moved VSU to an even 8-8 on the year, while Hawaii Pacific saw their record improve to 15-4 following the victory.
 
Bea Morales Hernandez secured the Lady Blazers' lone win of the day at No. 1 singles with an exciting 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 over Kristyna Hancarova. It was all Sharks from then on, however. HPU took a point at No. 2 when Nicole Hoynaski edged out Jennifer Rink 2-6, 6-3, 6-1.
 
Singles action continued with a 6-0, 6-2 loss for Joanna Lario against Lorena Gheorghe at No. 3, followed by another 6-4, 3-6, 10-2 Hawaii Pacific victory for Lea Kruse-Utermann over Anke Poncelet at No. 4. In the fifth and final singles matchup at No. 5, freshman Taylor Vinge fell 6-0, 6-1 to Sofia Tavitian.
 
Doubles action proved to be equally daunting for the Lady Blazers on Thursday, as Hancarova and Hoynaski teamed up to claim an 8-1 win at No. 1 over VSU's duo of Rink and Morales. Poncelet and Lario also fell at No. 2 with an 8-4 loss to Kruse-Utermann and Gheorghe.
 
The Lady Blazers have a chance to quickly bounce back on Friday with a 9:00 a.m. EST morning showdown against Concordia.