Box Score OAHU, Hawaii --- A Friday matchup gave the Eagles a high-level opponent to open conference play. Biola took the court to face off against the fourth-ranked Hawaii Hilo Vulcans (0-1). The Eagles (3-0) were not intimidated and were able to pull off the 5-2 upset on the road for their first program win over UHH.

"The guys made a big statement with their win today," said head coach David Goodman "They played with so much heart and determination."

That heart and determination was necessary to take down the No. 4 team in the nation, according to the ITA NCAA DII Preseason Coaches Top 25 Poll. The Vulcans were also named the favorites in the PacWest preseason poll. On the rise, BU was picked to place fourth in the PacWest poll.

"Hilo is one of the best teams in the country and I was impressed with how we were able to hang with them," added Goodman.

BU came out of the gates strong, taking the first doubles matchup. Sebastian Herrera and Carlos Solorzano teamed up on court No. 2 and delivered an early blow in favor of Biola. The duo finished off a 6-2 set to put the team on the front foot.

The next to finish was the No. 1 spot with the hosting Vulcans pulling out the narrow win. UHH nabbed a 7-6 victory with the help of a 7-4 tiebreaker. 

The same story but a different ending came on the third court. Tomas Gomez and Callen Hein were caught up in a deadlock battle for the doubles point, as the match was tied 6-6. The tiebreaker was a nail-biter but the Eagles took it by an 8-6 margin, giving Biola the opening point of the competition. 

Hawaii Hilo responded quickly in singles play to even the match at one point apiece. The No. 1 spot went the way of the Vulcans in straight-sets fashion. 

The back-and-forth drama continued with back-to-back wins from Biola. Antonio Rosales Varona regained the lead for Biola, tallying a 6-3, 6-3 win on court No. 3. From the No. 6 spot, Alex Sedeno contributed a straight-sets victory to stay undefeated in singles play in 2022. The junior posted sets of 6-3 and 6-1 to nab the win, giving Biola a 3-1 advantage.

UHH put together one final push to erase the deficit, picking up a point on court number five. The singles win pushed the team's point total to two but that was all they could muster.

The final two matches fell the way of the Eagles, as the visitors notched the lofty victory. Alexei Prokopchuk provided the match-winner in a three-set thriller. After dropping the first set, Prokopchuk maintained his composure to comeback and win the last two sets (4-6, 6-4, 7-5).

"Our team has worked really hard this year to improve different aspects of our tennis game. It really showed itself today and I'm very proud of the guys," commented Goodman.

The Eagles will continue their road trip in Hawaii on Saturday with a contest at Hawaii Pacific at 11:00 am PST.