Hawai'i won its first-ever Western Athletic Conference men's tennis championship today with a 4-2 win over second-seeded Fresno State at Las Cruces, N.M.

The Rainbow Warriors (8-10), seeded fourth and ranked 92nd nationally, were led by WAC Freshman of the Year Dennis Lajola, who tallied victories in both doubles and singles against the Bulldogs (17-9). Lajola paired with teammate Jeff Fitch at No. 2 doubles to take down Denny Fafek and Taylor Leiby, 8-4, and also upset No. 83-ranked Rudolf Siwy at No. 1 singles, 7-6, 6-4.

"I couldn't be more proud of our guys," said UH head coach John Nelson, who was named WAC Coach of the Year. "It was a very hard match and they came through. They battled for three straight days and it's gratifying to see their hard work pay off."

UH beat top seed and three-time defending champion Boise State in the semifinals.

Hawai'i fell behind 1-0 after Fresno State, ranked 49th nationally, earned the doubles point with wins at the No. 1 and No. 3 positions. But singles victories by Lajola, Sascha Heinemann, Spence Mendoza and Fitch gave Hawai'i its first WAC championship.

Heinemann was named to the WAC second team for singles and for doubles with Andreas Weber.

The Rainbow Warriors earned their first-ever WAC title after losing in the semifinals to Fresno State the last two years. This was the third-straight year that Fresno State fell in the championship match of the WAC final. Hawai'i will now advance to the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA Regionals are May 9 to 11, at a school site to be determined. It will be UH's first NCAA appearance since the tournament went to a 64-team format.

For WAC women's honors, Rainbow Wahine Sophie Kobuch was named to the singles first team. Kobuch and Chloe Bihag were named to the doubles second team.

Hawai'i 4, Fresno State 2

Singles—Dennis Lajola (UH) def. No. 83 Rudolf Siwy 7-6, 6-4. No. 108 Sascha Heinemann (UH) def. Mirko Zapletal 6-3, 6-3. Tejesvi Veerepalli vs. Andreas Weber (UH) 7-6, 4-6, 1-2, unfinished. Denny Fafek def. Craig Faulk (UH) 6-4, 6-3. Spence Mendoza (UH) def. Martin Nilsson 2-6, 6-4, 7-5. Jeff Fitch (UH) def. Siddharth Alapati 6-1, 2-6, 6-2.

Doubles—Rudolf Siwy/Mirko Zapletal def. Andreas Weber/Sascha Heinemann (UH) 8-3. Dennis Lajola/Jeff Fitch (UH) def. Denny Fafek/Taylor Leiby 8-4. Tejesvi Veerepalli/Siddharth Alapati def. Spence Mendoza/Craig Faulk (UH) 8-4.