When all else fails for Brigham Young-Hawai'i women's tennis opponents, it doesn't hurt to pray for rain.

On Saturday, nature again did what 80 consecutive teams could not: It halted, at least temporarily, the Seasiders winning ways.

The Seasiders match with Delta State in Pensacola, Fla.,was called off because of rain, thus slowing BYUH's latest unimpeded march through NCAA Division II.

Coach Dave Porter's squad, which has won the last two NCAA Division II national titles (and five of the last seven), improved to 20-0 on the season after a 7-1 dispatching of No. 4 Valdosta State, a contest remarkable only because the Seasiders actually dropped a match.

BYUH, the No. 1 ranked Division II team in the country, has won 80 consecutive matches.

The Seasiders boast the No 1. and No. 4 ranked singles players, respectively, in Elwen Li and Maggie Deng. Li and Deng are also ranked No. 1 in doubles play.

Also ranked in the national top 50 in singles are Becky Lu (No. 12), Ramona Husaru (19), and Jenny Chin (43). Lu and Husaru are ranked No. 9 in doubles.

Despite ongoing weather problems, the Seasiders have shown no signs of letting up on their current road trip through the South.

They made short work of West Alabama and Tuskegee (9-0 and 9-0, respectively) before overcoming a stiffer challenge against No. 16 West Florida.

The match against West Florida was suspended on April 1 because of rain, but the Seasiders returned two days later to complete the win, 7-2, their closest margin of victory of the season.

Against No. 4 Valdosta State, the Seasiders swept the doubles matches and won four of the five completed singles matches. Even the lone defeat was a tight affair, with Ayako Ikeda dropping a 7-5, 4-6, (8-10) super tie-breaker against Karine Redon.

The Seasiders continue their road journey today against Dixie State and tomorrow against Notre Dame de Namur with the PacWest Championships following immediately from Thursday through Saturday.

BYUH doesn't play another match in La'ie until its April 19 date with UH-Hilo.

HILO RISING

While BYUH's Elwen Li and Maggie Deng have (deservedly) garnered most of the attention from local Division II women's tennis fans, a pair of players from No. 19 UH-Hilo are also making their mark on the national scene.

Eve Castaing is ranked No. 17 in singles play with a 13-6 record. Teammate Christie Pagatpatan (21-9) is ranked No. 38.

The two have also teamed to win 14 of 20 doubles matches this season, earning a No. 18 ranking in the national Division II poll.

HPU MEN STILL PERFECT

The Seasider men's tennis team continues to roll, improving its season record to 16-0 with a 7-2 win over Cal Poly Pomona yesterday.

Led by Hendrik Bode and Mark Mestan, HPU, ranked No. 10 in the national poll, took all three doubles matches and four of six singles matches.