LOS ANGELES — There was no major celebration on the field after yesterday's regional final. There was no jumping up and down, no mob of players around home plate or the infield.

With a 9-0, six-inning victory over Loyola Marymount yesterday, the University of Hawai'i softball team won its NCAA regional to advance to play Tennessee in the Super Regionals.

"It's not over yet," said UH senior Tyleen Tausaga, who went 3 for 4 and scored three runs. "I think that's why we didn't really celebrate as much as everybody thought we probably would've. It's not over yet. We've got to go to Tennessee."

The Super Regional berth is the first in Rainbow Wahine history, as yesterday marked the first time UH has ever won a softball regional.

For a program that has been to the regionals seven times, yesterday's win marked a milestone. UH won on the road in one of the nation's toughest regionals and did so without losing a game.

"We've knocked on the door," UH coach Bob Coolen said. "When we get the right chemistry, when we get the right team together, we can compete with anyone. This year we put together a great schedule. We've won a lot of ball games against some top-ranked teams. This year was the year that we've put it all together and we've kept it going all year long."

Yesterday's win was vastly different from the rest of the regional for the Rainbow Wahine (49-11). UH's first two games were extra-inning nail-biters and low-scoring affairs, beating UC Santa Barbara, 2-0 and UCLA, 3-1.

The Rainbow Wahine's bats came alive yesterday with 16 hits against the Lions (47-18). Eight of the nine players in the starting lineup got at least one hit.

The Rainbow Wahine didn't score until late in the game on Friday and Saturday, but yesterday put up three runs in the first inning. Kate Robinson hit a single to score Clare Warwick and Kaulana Gould, and later in the inning, Valana Manuma hit a sacrifice fly to score Tausaga.

"The first game I pitched we went 0-0 until the 10th inning," said UH pitcher Justine Smethurst, who pitched complete games Friday and yesterday. "When you come out and get three runs you're thinking, 'Our team's on our game today with our bats.' I knew from the moment that we got three runs that it wasn't going to stop after the first inning. That takes a lot of pressure off."

Smethurst pitched brilliantly for the Rainbow Wahine yesterday, allowing only four hits, striking out seven batters and did not issue a walk.

The Rainbow Wahine scored four more runs in the fifth inning, with five players getting hits, including RBI singles by Robinson, Brandi Peiler and Kathryn Grimes.

UH got four more hits in the sixth, scoring two more runs, including an RBI double by Robinson and a run-scoring single by Manuma. Robinson finished 3 for 4, including four RBIs.

With a 9-0 lead, the game was called after the sixth because of the eight-run mercy rule.

The Rainbow Wahine will play Tennessee in a best-of-three series on Friday and Saturday.

The matchup will feature a battle between sisters, UH's Valana Manuma and Tennessee's Anita Manuma, who are from Kapolei.

"It's going to be exciting," Valana Manuma said. "I haven't seen her since she left for Tennessee. We call each other after every game and she's excited too."

Anita Manuma, the Lady Vols' starting right fielder, went 3 for 4 to help Tennessee defeat Winthrop, 7-0, in the title game of the Knoxville, Tenn., regional.

Kamehameha alum Liane Horiuchi, a sophomore shortstop for Tennessee, went 2 for 3 against Winthrop, scoring two runs.

Tennessee (57-5) was ranked No. 1 for most of this season before dropping to the overall No. 5 seed in the tournament. The Lady Vols feature Monica Abbott, who is considered to be one of the best pitchers in the country.

"I told the girls 'Let's be the giant killers,' " Tausaga said. "Everybody knows that Tennessee is probably everybody's favorite. We want to spoil it. We're ready for next week."