AZUSA, Calif. -- In a match ridden with injuries, the Azusa Pacific women's tennis team survived winning all four of the completed singles matches and 2-of-3 doubles matches to defeat Westmont 7-2 Wednesday afternoon.
Match Results
Azusa Pacific has now won 29 consecutive completed singles matches this season going back to the final singles match against UC San Diego on Feb. 7.
The Cougars (6-2) raced out to a 2-0 lead with wins from Lindsey Yeom and Jackie Resler at No. 2 doubles, 8-2, along with an 8-4 win at No. 3 by Valeriia Kashina and Bethany Duval. Then at No. 1 doubles, the Warriors got their first win of the day 9-8(4) from their undefeated doubles pair of Lauren Stratman and Ines Costamagna.
Danae Ingwaldson and Natalie Johnson led 7-5 in doubles and had one match point on Stratman's serve. However, the NAIA All-American saved it with an unreturned serve. Stratman and Costamagna, who had won 64-of-66 games in eight sets this year entering the match, won three games in a row to take an 8-7 lead.
The Cougars broke back to force a tiebreaker after Johnson returned a second serve for a drop shot winner at 15-40. Johnson and Ingwaldson took an early 4-2 lead in the tiebreaker, but Stratman and Costamagna came back to win five points in a row and take the tiebreaker, winning what was by far their most competitive match of the year to end the Cougars' point streak at 39 consecutive singles and doubles matches won.
Kashina gave the Cougars a 4-1 lead after Costamagna retired from her match with a back injury. Kashina led 6-1, 2-1 when her opponent retired, handing the Warrior her first loss of the season.
Injuries continued to have an effect on the match with Johnson retiring from her match despite leading in the second set. Overall, Stratman led 6-2, 2-3 in the battle of two of the best singles players in the nation outside of NCAA Division I.
Ingwaldson won her singles match 6-3, 6-1 at No. 3 singles right after Sierra Troxel got a 6-1, 6-3 win at No. 5 singles. Yeom improved her singles winning streak to six in a row with a 6-4, 7-5 victory at No. 4 singles over a nationally-ranked opponent. Duval completed the 7-2 win with a 6-4, 6-4 victory at No. 6 singles for her second win this year in as many matches.
Azusa Pacific will step right back out on the courts Thursday afternoon, playing against BYU-Hawaii, which is the No. 1 team in the West Region.
