AZUSA, Calif. -- After having the 2015 season ended by Point Loma, Azusa Pacific had little trouble taking the first meeting of the season with the No. 33 team in the nation 7-2 at the Cougar Tennis Complex thanks to five singles victories on Saturday morning
Match Results
Valeriia Kashina claimed her first victory of the season with a quick 6-0, 6-4 win at No. 3 singles to boost the Cougar lead to 3-1 after taking two of the doubles sets. Then victories at No. 1 and No. 2 singles eventually sealed the victory for Azusa Pacific.
Lisa Schneider held serve at 5-6 at No. 2 singles to finally send a long first set into a tiebreaker. Regina von Koch started the tiebreaker well, going ahead 6-2, but Schneider saved all four set points and won six points in a row in total to claim the first set. Schneider then cruised to victory in the second set for a 7-6(6), 6-0 triumph.
"Regina played really well in the beginning, getting all of the balls back," Schneider said. "I was down 2-4, 0-30 and I just told myself to hang in there because a tennis match is long and anything can happen. Then I was down again in the tiebreaker and I started to think about the next set, but I managed to win the set and started to really play well after that."
Just a couple minutes later, Cougar No. 1 Natalie Johnson defeated Nikki Newell, who is the No. 10 player in the West Region, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 to secure the team win. Johnson has now won all three of her matches at No. 1 singles against West Region opponents this season.
Jackie Resler was the last player to step on the singles court and didn't waste any time in securing her fourth consecutive victory to start the season, 6-1, 6-0. Kara Hinton then made the final score 7-2, pulling off an impressive comeback at No. 5 singles. The freshman trailed 5-7, 0-5, but won the last eight games of the match including the match tiebreaker for a 5-7, 7-5, 10-6 triumph.
In doubles, Lilit Vardanyan and Hinton halted a two-set skid with an 8-3 victory at No. 2 doubles. Kashina and Resler teamed up for a team-best third win this season, winning at No. 3 doubles. Newell and Von Koch narrowly pulled out the No. 1 doubles set 8-6 to prevent the sweep.
The Cougars play their final road match until the end of March when they go to Cal State L.A. on Monday. Cal State L.A. is ranked 16th in the nation and fourth in the West Region, while Azusa Pacific is 14th in the nation and third in the region.
