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MALIBU, Calif. — The Hawaiʻi men’s tennis team concluded Day 3 at the ITA Southwest Regionals on Saturday at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center. Söeren Grandke gave everything, but his run in the main draw was halted by a hard-fought three-set loss in Malibu, Caif..
In the quarterfinal round of the main singles draw, Grandke went toe-to-toe with USC’s Nathan Trouve. Grandke set the pace early by edging Trouve in a gritty opening set tiebreaker, 7-6 (1). However, Trouve managed to reclaim the momentum back over the final two sets to end Grandke’s stellar run, 6-7 (1), 6-4, 6-2.
In doubles qualifying action, Hawaiʻi secured a standout victory as duo of Simon Knezevic and Kosuke Nakanishi delivered a dominant 8-2 performance to defeat UC Irvine’s Mason Bui and Nathaniel Suh. The rest of the Rainbow Warriors’ doubles lineup pushed their opponents to the limit in close battles. Grandke teamed with Mats Breschneijder, taking Arizona State’s Ofek Shimajov and Simon Caldwell into a tiebreaker before falling 8-7 (7-2). Hikaru Takahashi and Kent Mueller suffered a similarly tight heartbreak, dropping an 8-7 (7-5) tiebreaker to LMU’s Denis Maijorov and Max Wuelfing. Meanwhile, Adriano Dzhenev and David Knesl dropped an 8-3 match against UC Riverside’s Jovan Pedroza and Owen Pearson.
The Rainbow Warriors will stay on the road to compete in the UTR PTT Newport Beach beginning on Monday, Oct. 19 and running through Sunday, Oct. 25. Hawai’i’s Kosuke Nakanishi, David Knesl and Adriano Dzhenev will represent the Green and White in Newport Beach. Söeren Grandke, Mats Bredschneijder, Kent Mueller, Simon Knezevic, and Hikaru Takahashi will compete in the Mountain West Invite which begins on Wednesday, Oct. 21 in Las Vegas, Nev. at UNLV’s Fertitta Tennis Complex.
ITA SOUTHWEST REGIONALS
DAY 3 RESULTS
Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026
Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center (Malibu, Calif.)
SINGLES RESULTS
Main Draw – Quarterfinal
Nathan Trouve (USC) def Soeren Grandke (UH), 6-7 (1-7), 6-4, 6-2
DOUBLES RESULTS
Qualifying – Round of 64
Ofek Shimajov/Simon Caldwell (ASU) def. Mats Breschneijder/Söeren Grandke (UH), 8-7 (7-2)
Simon Knezevic/Kosuke Nakanishi (UH) def. Mason Bui/Nathaniel Suh (UCI), 8-2
Jovan Pedroza /Owen Pearson (UCR) def. Adriano Dzhenev/David Knesl (UH). 8-3
Denis Maijorov/Max Wuelfing (LMU) def. Hikaru Takahashi/Kent Mueller (UH), 8-7 (7-5)
Jovan Pedroza/Owen Pearson (UHR) def. Adriano Dzhenev/David Knesl (UH), 8-3
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