AZUSA, Calif. -- The Azusa Pacific men's tennis team got its third home victory in a row with an 8-1 win over Concordia, a former Golden State Athletic Conference opponent that will join the Pacific West Conference next year.

Match Results

The inter-divisional meeting created a pair of interesting match-ups at the No. 1 singles and doubles positions. At No. 1 singles, Jan Meyer, the No. 7 player in NCAA Division II, took on Concordia's Chris Wickenhauser, the No. 12 player in the NAIA, while the two also met in doubles, each carrying a 4-1 record this season into the match.

Wickenhauser and his partner Till Guttenberger won the doubles match 8-5 for the Eagles, handing Meyer and Gary Yam  just their third career doubles loss as a team in dual matches. With Guttenberger serving at 6-4, the Cougars had a pair of break points, but the junior saved them both before Wickenhauser served out the victory a couple games later.

However, at No. 1 singles, Meyer got the edge for Azusa Pacific (5-1) with a 6-2, 3-6, 10-6 victory for his first three-set victory of the season after dropping his last three-set match to the No. 4 player in the NAIA. 

"In the first set and a half, I thought I played well," Meyer said, "but I missed some opportunities in the second set and he came back stronger and was able to play his best tennis. Then in the tiebreak, I was being more patient and didn't miss at all, which was good."

In the match-tiebreaker, Meyer quickly turned the momentum after dropping the second set by getting out to a 5-2 lead, which he held onto for his fifth win this season.

"He played well and he has had some strong results," Meyer said of his opponent. "He was a very good player, so I was happy that I pulled it off."

At No. 6 singles, Cameron Backman  earned his second career victory in as many days, coming through a tight battle for a 6-1, 0-6, 10-6 victory. The freshman went up a mini-break twice in the match-tiebreak, but both times Man Hon Ko, the No. 36 player in the NAIA, got the mini-break back.

Hon Ko came into the net three times in the deciding tiebreak, and Backman forced a volley error all three times. Then with an 8-6 lead, Backman came into the net on consecutive points to earn match points and then convert on the first time of asking.

Shepherd Newcomb  and Alan Leahy  continued their form at No. 3 doubles with a third consecutive win after dropping two of their first three doubles sets. The pair of sophomores won 8-2 just minutes after Ben Eger  and Pascal Engel  earned an 8-4 win at No. 2 doubles. The Cougars' No. 2 doubles team has been the most successful so far this season, compiling a 5-1 record.

The Cougars singles matches had a race to the finish with No. 2, 3, and 4 all winning in straight sets. Engel was the first to wrap up his victory, Moritz Pronath, NAIA's No. 39 player 6-0, 6-0. Yam was right behind with a 6-0, 6-2 win over No. 32 Racy Rafael at the No. 4 position, and Eger only needed a couple more minutes to give the Cougars a 5-1 edge as a team, winning 6-2, 6-1 at No. 2 singles.

Leahy's success in doubles with Newcomb has coincided with success in singles, also winning  each of his last three matches there. Against the Eagles, Leahy defeated Bernardo Bertalucci 6-2, 6-1 at No. 5 singles for Azusa Pacific's sixth point of the day.

Azusa Pacific returns to action next Thursday, hosting PacWest Conference opponent BYU-Hawaii, which is ranked No. 19 in Division II and just two spots behind the Cougars at No. 4 in the regional rankings that came out on Wednesday.