HONOLULU, Hawaii - The Gonzaga University men's tennis team delivered another exciting victory over another elite team Friday, defeating Western Athletic Conference powerhouse University of Hawai'i 5-2 on the Rainbow Warrior campus.

The Bulldogs (2-0) had to rally in doubles play to secure the lone point. Levin Guillermo and Muzeen Ismath dropped an 8-5 decision in their No. 3 doubles match but with the help of their teammates the Bulldogs came back. Zhia Hwa Chong and Scott Sullivan evened the score one win apiece with an 8-3 victory at No. 2 doubles and with the tiebreaker determined at court one, the team of Olivier Jamin and Alvaro Nazal battled their way to a 9-8 (4) victory to secure the doubles point for the Bulldogs.

In singles play, the Warriors (0-1) tied the match 1-1 with Chas Okamoto defeating Jamin 6-3, 6-1. The Warriors then took a 2-1 lead with Danilo Casanova beating Sullivan 6-4, 6-4 at No. 5 singles.

After losing the first set 2-6, Vladimir Mijatovic bounced back and won the next two sets, 6-3, 6-2, at court four to help the Bulldogs even the score 2-2. The Bulldogs retook the lead when Chong clinched a two-set 7-6 (5), 6-1 victory over Jared Spiker at the No. 6 spot.

Guillermo had quite a battle with Dimitro Kovalyov at court two. He dropped the first set 0-6 but pulled a 6-3, 6-3 comeback victory to clinch the match for the Bulldogs.

Nazal, in his second appearance at court one, defeated Jonathan Brooklyn 6-4, 7-6 (10) to complete the 5-2 victory for the Bulldogs.

The Rainbow Warriors have had huge success on the court, having clinched three straight WAC championships from 2008-10 and having just missed their fourth straight last season. The Rainbow Warriors were also participants in the NCAA Men's Tennis Championships during those years, having advanced as high as the second round.

"I am so proud of the guys tonight, they really fought hard to get the win," head coach Peter MacDonald said. "For us to beat an elite team like Hawai'i on its campus is huge. This is a great win for our program."

The Bulldogs return to the court for a matchup against UC Santa Barbara Saturday. The match is scheduled to start at noon PT.

GONZAGA BULLDOGS 5, HAWAI'I RAINBOW WARRIORS 2

Singles competition

1. NAZAL, Alvaro (GON) def. BROOKLYN, Jonathan (UH) 6-4, 7-6 (10-0)

2. GUILLERMO, Levin (GON) def. KOVALYOV, Dimitro (UH) 0-6, 6-3, 6-3

3. OKAMOTO, Chas (UH) def. JAMIN, Olivier (GON) 6-3, 6-1

4. MIJATOVIC, Vladimir (GON) def. RICE, Charlie (UH) 2-6, 6-3, 6-2

5. CASANOVA, Danilo (UH) def. SULLIVAN, Scott (GON) 6-4, 6-4

6. CHONG, Zhia Hwa (GON) def. SPIKER, Jared (UH) 7-6 (5-0), 6-1

Doubles competition

1. JAMIN, Olivier/NAZAL, Alvaro (GON) def. BROOKLYN,

Jonathan/SCHUMANN, Nils (UH) 9-8 (4-0)

2. CHONG, Zhia Hwa/SULLIVAN, Scott (GON) def. RICE, Charlie/CASANOVA,

Danilo (UH) 8-3

3. OKAMOTO, Chas/MEYERS, Chris (UH) def. GUILLERMO, Levin/ISMATH,

Muzeen (GON) 8-5

Match Notes:

GONZAGA BULLDOGS 2-0

HAWAI'I RAINBOW WARRIORS 0-1

Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (3,5,4,6,2,1)