No. 9 Academy of Art versus No. 6 Hawaii Pacific--2017 NCAA Division II West Regional
 
HONOLULU – It was the third time that No. 9 Academy of Art and No. 6 Hawaii Pacific have met in the NCAA Division II West Regional. Despite an impressive attempt to erase a 2-1 deficit after doubles, the Urban Knights' come-from-behind rally fell short and the Sharks prevailed 5-3.
 
In first doubles, No. 8-ranked sophomores Alma Thell-Lenntorp and Klara Thell-Lenntorp were upset for the second-consecutive match by No. 24 Lara Meccico and Barbora Kijasova. The twins fell behind early and could not recover, dropping the contest 8-0. After falling in the second position, sophomores Monika Stanikova and Paula Alcantara were able to salvage a point by emerging as victors after a well-contested matchup (9-7).
 
Moving into singles, ART U had a steep hill to climb if the wished to mount a comeback. Of the six forthcoming matches, the Knights would have to win four to move on to the Sweet 16 in Florida. Although a difficult path to take, Academy of Art was no stranger to the task. In fact, in the third-place match at the PacWest Conference Championship ten days ago, ART U managed to climb out of the same predicament against Cal State LA to capture the victory.
 
After falling in first and second singles, the Urban Knights bounced right back with wins in the fifth and sixth positions: A. Thell-Lenntorp made quick work of her opponent with a 6-2, 6-0 win while Alcantara only surrendered two games as well (6-0, 6-2). Now, with just two contests remaining, it was imperative for ART U to win both in order to win the match. All eyes were trained on HPU's No. 29 Oceane Adam and K. Thell-Lenntorp in third singles as the matchup moved into a decisive third set. After dropping the first set 6-2, Klara swept the second 6-0. In the third, the two looked evenly matched until Adam just edged Thell-Lenntorp 6-4 which put an immediate end to the contest.
 
With their 2017 campaign now at an end, Academy of Art finished their year with a 17-5 record and they matched the farthest that any ART U women's tennis team has ever reached before.