SAN DIEGO - The Point Loma women's tennis team earned its first shutout of the season with a 9-0 victory over Hawaii Hilo on Saturday, Mar. 19.
 
The Sea Lions (7-8) closed to within one game of .500 with the victory. The loss dropped the Vulcans to 3-5 on the season.
 
Point Loma closed out the match early by sweeping all six singles matches in straight sets. Nicole Camaratta did not drop a game as she defeated Anne Carsey at No. 5s 6-0 and 6-0.
 
"Starting in singles can be difficult but our ladies did a good job of starting matches strong," said Point Loma head coach Curt Wheeler. "They came out ready to play and maintained it to the finish line."
 
There was no let down in doubles as PLNU won all three matches convincingly. Hillary Ramage and Camaratta moved up to the No. 1 spot in the Sea Lions' order but were unphased as evidence by their 8-1 win. Hannah Chiu and Cassidy Siegfried stepped into the No. 3 spot after the others moved up and  looked good in an 8-3 victory.
 
"It was great to watch Hannah Chiu and Cassidy Siegfried play really well," said Wheeler. "They have been waiting for their opportunity all year. Today they got ready in just minutes and played great in doubles."
 
The Sea Lions will return to the court on Wednesday, Mar. 23 at Concordia (CA). The match will start at 2:00 pm.

#31 Point Loma 9, University of Hawaii at Hilo 0
Mar 19, 2016 at San Diego, CA (PLNU Tennis Courts) 
Singles competition
1. Newell, Nikki (PLNU-WT) def. Trixie Croad (UHH-WT) 6-1, 6-0
2. von Koch, Regina (PLNU-WT) def. Bianca Novotna (UHH-WT) 6-0, 6-1
3. Ramage, Hillary (PLNU-WT) def. Kinsey Volkart (UHH-WT) 6-2, 6-3
4. Weissmann, Jen (PLNU-WT) def. Chelsea Sato (UHH-WT) 6-3, 6-1
5. Camaratta, Nicole (PLNU-WT) def. Anne Carsey (UHH-WT) 6-0, 6-0
6. Torres, Michelle (PLNU-WT) def. Shanise Kaaikala (UHH-WT) 6-1, 6-1

Doubles competition
1. Ramage, Hillary/Camaratta, Nicole (PLNU-WT) def. Trixie Croad/Chelsea Sato (UHH-WT) 8-1
2. Torres, Michelle/Mountain, Kirsty (PLNU-WT) def. Kinsey Volkart/Shanise Kaaikala (UHH-WT) 8-4
3. Siegfried, Cassidy/Chiu, Hannah (PLNU-WT) def. Megan Fujitake/Anne Carsey (UHH-WT) 8-3

Match Notes
University of Hawaii at Hilo 3-5
Point Loma 7-8; National ranking #31; Regional ranking #8
T-2:33 A-79