Andre Ilagan was already perhaps the most decorated player in University of Hawaii men’s tennis history when he arrived at Orlando, Fla., for the NCAA singles tournament this week.

After exiting the tournament in the Round of 16 at the USTA National Campus on Wednesday, there is no debate on his standing. Ilagan fell to Ohio State’s Alexander Bernard, 6-1, 6-7 (3), 6-4 after recording successive wins on Monday and Tuesday to become the program's first ITA All-American.

What You Need To Know

  • Hawaii men's tennis star Andre Ilagan concluded his standout college career with a three-set loss to Ohio State's Alexander Bernard in the NCAA men's singles tournament Round of 16 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla., on Wednesday

  • By defeating two opponents and reaching the final 16, Ilagan was automatically accorded All-America status, becoming the first UH men's player and just UH's second overall player to get it after the Rainbow Wahine's Petra Melounova in 2019

  • Despite winning a career-best 17 straight matches at UH's No. 1 court this season, he said his biggest regret was not being able to lead the Rainbow Warriors to a Big West team championship over his five-year college career

  • Ilagan plans to remain in Florida for training over the summer before embarking on a professional tennis career

Ilagan reflected on his career and his imminent pro debut in a Zoom call with Hawaii media members from Orlando on Wednesday night.

“Unfortunately, I couldn’t help (UH) win a team championship in the Big West. That was the No. 1 thing I wanted out of my five years,” Ilagan said to a question about his accomplishments. “But I guess for my individual accolades, I can say I did not too bad.”

Former Rainbow Wahine Petra Melounova is the only other UH tennis player to achieve All-America status.

Ilagan became the fifth Big West men's player to ever advance to the NCAA Round of 16, and only the second since 1989. The Farrington High alumnus from Kalihi is the only Rainbow Warrior to compete in two NCAA singles tournaments and the only one to win an NCAA singles match.

“It was nice representing Hawaii because you have all these big schools – Big Ten, Pac-12 and all these schools – and then you have that one mid-major school, which is us, gaining a lot of respect,” Ilagan said. “I hope it (informs) people back home and maybe new recruits coming in, that I’m making a name for Hawaii men’s tennis. I’m glad I can say that after I’m finally done.”

Ilagan had his serve broken twice in a quick first set against Bernard, a fellow left-hander of similar small stature at 5 feet 9. He fought back in the second and evened the match with a dominant tiebreaker frame.

He broke Bernard’s serve twice in the third set to take a 4-3 lead, only to succumb on serve twice himself to see Bernard take the match with three straight games.

Ilagan’s 17-match winning streak was snapped.

With his family and some friends in attendance for the match, Ilagan said it took him until the second set to start to get a handle on the USTA campus’ faster outdoor courts after he’d practiced and competed indoors earlier in the tournament. When he trailed 5-4 in the second set, he admitted he thought he was done at that point.

“I said, ‘I’ve got to play Andre tennis again,’ and my level went up a little bit,” Ilagan said.

He credited Bernard for completing a 30-shot rally late in the third set that swung the momentum for good. Ilagan acknowledged he was gassed after the sequence and had difficulty recovering.

There will be no imminent Hawaii homecoming for him before he embarks on a pro career. He plans to train near Tampa over the summer and see where the pro circuit takes him.

“This is, as we say, a tennis life. Home is around the world,” Ilagan said with a smile. “I think that’s the new journey I have right now.”

He plans to keep tabs on the UH program under coach Joel Kusnierz and the fortunes of local tennis players.

At some point, he said, he will return to the islands and share advice with those coming up in the scene. It’s not what it could be, he feels.

“This is going to be a tough one, but I’m a very honest person. I think Hawaii tennis can be better,” Ilagan said. “I think as a community, especially for the tennis community, we need to push very hard. When things go uncomfortable, that’s where the real hard work happens. That’s where we need to be. We need to take that step first.

“Hopefully, after I’m done playing professional tennis, I want to give back everything I have, all the knowledge. Man, Hawaii’s home, and it means a lot to me so, I want to see, instead of maybe me, one guy coming up, why not have two, three guys out of Hawaii being, ‘oh wow, he can play,’ you know?”

He finished his career as just the second UH men’s player to be an all-conference first-team selection for four years, along with Dennis Lajola in the Western Athletic Conference. Ilagan was the Big West Player of the Year in 2022.

Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.