AZUSA, Calif.-- The NAIA's No. 5-ranked Azusa Pacific suffered its first shutout in 2 years to the NCAA Division II's defending runner-up and No. 2-ranked Barry (Fla.) Friday afternoon at the Munson and Bavougian Tennis Complex. Junior Ronald Chow nearly gave Azusa Pacific its only points of the match after he pushed his opponents to set tiebreakers in both his singles and doubles matches.

Barry swept all 3 doubles matches, wasting no time recording the match’s first point with an 8-0 shutout at No. 2. The other 2 doubles matches featured late Cougar rallies before ending in Barry’s favor. At No. 1, juniors Matthijs Bolsius and Mathias Weber rallied to win 3 straight games while facing a 7-3 deficit, but the tandem was unable to break another serve and suffered an 8-6 defeat.

Chow and sophomore Daniel Moore made a similar push, forcing an 8-8 tiebreaker after trailing 6-3. The pair dropped the first 4 points of the 7-point set tiebreaker, then rallied with 3 straight points. However, a bad break cost the tandem a chance to tie after Moore ran down a ball near the net just outside the right sideline. His lob, which appeared at first to be an easy winner over both Barry players, instead crashed into the match score indicator located along that side of the net and fell out of bounds at the net. The crucial point pushed the deficit back to 2 points and Barry secured the 7-5 tiebreaker win for the 9-8 doubles victory.

The Buccaneers finished singles play with straight set sweeps across the board, holding off several more Cougar rallies. At No. 3, Janosch Apelt held 5-3 leads in both sets before dropping a 7-6, 7-5 decision, and Chow held leads in both sets at No. 5 but dropped his match by an identical 7-6, 7-5 margin.

"They looked like the No. 2 NCAA Division II team in the nation, and they were definitely the better team today," Cougar head coach Mark Bohren said. "By getting that 3-0 lead after doubles, they played more relaxed while I think we were a little more tight knowing what a huge deficit that is."

With the loss, Azusa Pacific drops to 4-2 overall while Barry improves to 6-0 on the season. The Cougars host Hawaii Pacific at 12 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 28, before returning back to Golden State Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, March 4 in a clash at home with the NAIA's No. 2-ranked Fresno Pacific.

SINGLES
1. Ales Svigelj (BU) def. Matthijs Bolsius (APU); 6-0, 7-5
2. Emmanuel Fraitzl (BU) def. Mathias Weber (APU); 6-3, 6-3
3. Max Wimmer (BU) def. Janosch Apelt (APU); 7-6, 7-5
4. Roman Werschel (BU) def. Daniel Moore (APU); 6-4, 6-2
5. Jakub Fejfar (BU) def. Ronald Chow (APU); 7-6, 7-5
6. Marcello D'Armas (BU) def. Whitman Hough (APU); 6-1, 6-3

Order of Finish: 2, 6*, 1, 4, 3, 5
* = clinching match

DOUBLES
1. Fraitzl/Wimmer (BU) def. Bolsius/Weber (APU); 8-6
2. Andrew Sharnov/Svigelj (BU) def. Jack Zapala/Apelt (APU); 8-0
3. Sergio Velez/Werschel (BU) def. Chow/Moore (APU); 9-8

Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3