SAN DIEGO, Calif.-- The Azusa Pacific women's tennis team opened its 2013 season with a 6-3 win over Point Loma on Friday afternoon.  The Cougars' singles lineup featured three newcomers, but was led by a familiar force as junior captain Emily Harris extended her winning streak to 15 matches dating back to last season.  

Harris, ranked #17 in NCAA Division II (ITA), closed her sophomore season on a 14-match winning spree, and opened her junior campaign with a convincing 6-1, 6-3 victory in her fourth-ever match at No. 1.  Harris has now won 24 of her last 25 decisions dating back to her freshman year.
 
And while Harris' streak is impressive, it still sits at No. 2 on her own team in terms of length as junior Kim Koetterheinrich extended her winning ways in doubles action to 19 consecutive victories. Koetterheinrich, who went unbeaten in doubles in 2012 (18-0), registered a narrow 8-7 (7-5) defeat of Wileen Chiu and Kiersten Steinhauer with new teammate Lindsey Yeom to help Azusa Pacific sweep doubles play.  

"It's always good to open the season like that.  Emily hasn't really talked about the streak, but it's obviously really good for her to open the year with a win at No. 1.  I know Kim was excited about the season, and she's been so good in doubles that I thought she'd have a good chance to keep it going.  I was also impressed with Lindsey getting two wins in her first college match," said head coach Mark Bohren.

The ITA's 10th ranked Division II doubles team of Harris and Danae Ingwaldson got past Hope Penner and Preethika Venugopal 8-3 at No. 1, while Division I transfers Brejohn McCrary and Samantha Kaneta recorded an 8-5 victory against Maika Adair and Sharon Reibstein at No. 2.
Azusa Pacific split singles play with, winning at the No. 1, 3, and 5 spots. McCrary, a transfer from Cal State Northridge, recorded a 6-3, 6-4 defeat of Venugopal at No. 3, and Yeom posted a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Christy Mountain in the 5-slot.

  Sophomore Bethany Duval lost to Reibstein 6-1, 6-4 at No. 6, while Kaneta fell in a close match  at No. 4.  The Depaul transfer dropped the first set 6-2, but responded with a 6-4 win in the second to force a third, where she fell 10-7 to Chiu.  Ingwaldson, playing at No. 2 in just her second season, dropped a 7-5, 6-1 match to Penner. The Cougars will return to the courts tomorrow when they face UCSD at 10 a.m.