Hawai'i hired Rogelio "Jun" Hernandez as the new Rainbow Wahine tennis coach in January, giving him a compelling challenge from the moment his sneakers hit Manoa.

By waiting nearly six months to fill the position, UH essentially killed two recruiting years for a team that lost all but one singles starter. Lauren Fitzgerald, Kimberly Curtis, Justine Boutet and Paige Mainor — Hawai'i's Academic All-WAC seniors from last season — took nearly 300 wins with them.

The Rainbow Wahine and Hernandez are paying the price for UH's procrastination. Hernandez, formerly an assistant for Top 20 teams at Cal and San Diego, is looking for his inaugural head coaching victory after 14 losses and a tie.

"It's not easy for sure," said Hernandez, who lived in the Philippines until coming to the United States at 19 for college. "You stay positive and focus on the improvement."

His team is trying to make the transition to a new coach with a new style. Hernandez packs a lot into the 20 hours of weekly practice the NCAA allows. When that, matches and travel are over, he demands players get A's or B's in class; a C means mandatory study hall.

Hernandez said he came in with realistic expectations this season. But he also talks about surging into the Top 20 in three years.

He describes it as "going for something out of my comfort zone, and I know I'll be working hard for it." He asks his players to work just as hard and believes their mounting frustration is providing dark inspiration.

"As a competitor," Hernandez said, "the more you're losing the more you want to go out there the next day and work hard and get better."

He sees progress, with wins at every singles and doubles position including three three-set wins from Kana Aikawa at No. 1. But the payback he craves for his players — a team victory — has yet to surface.

"For them, because they are working hard, I want to see some results," Hernandez said. "It's not for me. I know one or two wins is not going to take us to the NCAA Tournament. But for them, it's always nice to see results because you know you are working hard. And you achieve accomplishments as far as wins."

Hernandez, who did most of the recruiting while at Cal, expects to bring in four players next year. Talent is third on his recruiting list. First, he finds a player who "wants to get better each day and improve as a person." Then he looks for someone "coachable."

Personally, Hernandez has been making the transition of his move to Manoa. He started surfing and thanks to UH men's coach John Nelson — Hernandez's tennis coach for a year at San Diego State — has picked up golf. He is delighted to be living back on an island and thankful for finding so many who speak his native language — and Yama's Fish Market.

His team is finding its own way to cope, Hernandez said. It has grown closer.

"I told them that's the perfect way to help each other out," he said. "When you're down you need some support. You really know who is your friend and who is not as close a friend. The people supporting you no matter how well you are doing are those you want around you."

The Rainbow Wahine have three regular-season matches remaining, beginning with New Mexico State tomorrow. The WAC Championships are April 20 to 22 in Fresno, Calif.

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com.