AZUSA, Calif. – For the second time this season, sophomore Jackie Resler was the last Cougar on court in a 4-4 tie, and once again Resler came through for Azusa Pacific with a 6-1, 6-3 triumph at No. 6 singles to defeat Amherst 5-4 on Friday afternoon at the Cougar Tennis Complex.

Match Results

Amherst, the No. 6 team in NCAA Division III, led 2-1 after doubles, won at No. 1 and No. 2 singles to make the score 3-3 when Kara Hinton and Resler stepped onto the court. Hinton made the score 4-4 overall with a 6-2, 6-4 victory at No. 5 singles, the sixth win of her freshman campaign.

Resler had already won the first set of her match at that point and led 2-1 in the second set. Resler held on in the second set to give the Cougars their third victory of the week to make their record 9-4 this season.

At No. 1 singles, Johnson evened the score at 2-2 by winning without dropping a game 6-0, 6-0 against the No. 16 player in NCAA Division III. Lisa Schneider also won 6-2, 6-3, but the Jeffs won by the same score at No. 4 singles.

Valeriia Kashina led her singles match 6-1, 4-1, but later rolled her ankle and eventually dropped the match at No. 3 singles 6-1, 6-7(5), 2-6 to make the overall score 3-4 before Hinton and Resler completed the comeback.

In doubles, Amherst won at No. 1 doubles 8-2, while Kashina and Resler won 8-4, leaving only No. 2 doubles to determine who had the lead going into singles play. With the match tied at 5-5, Hinton saved three break points in a row on her serve to give the Cougars a 6-5 lead.

However, the Cougars were broken when serving at 6-6 giving the Lords a chance to serve for the match. Azusa Pacific broke back and Hinton held again to take an 8-7 lead. Vardanyan and Hinton were two points away from the match in the next game, but after the Jeffs held they won the tiebreaker 7-2 for a 2-1 lead overall after nearly two hours.

Azusa Pacific plays again on Monday against Colorado Christian at the Cougar Tennis Complex at 10 a.m.