SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Azusa Pacific had the benefit of playing a large portion of its schedule not far from home, boasting a 13-3 record when playing in Los Angeles County. However, the road wasn't as friendly to the Cougars in the 2016 season as the No. 14 team in the nation won once in six matches outside of Los Angeles county.
Match Results
On Friday, the Cougars' season came to an end with the team's second loss in Surprise, Ariz., falling to Academy of Art 5-1 in the Pacific West Conference tournament at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Club.
Following a narrow loss the day before that lasted four and a half hours, No. 3 Azusa Pacific was right back on court at 9:00 a.m. the next day to face No. 7 Academy of Art.
Azusa Pacific had a fast starting grabbing the first break in each of the three doubles sets, but it didn't last long. The Urban Knights won six games in a row at No. 1 doubles to grab a 7-4 lead and eventually won 8-5. Similar leads disappeared on the next two courts with Academy of Art winning 8-5 on No. 2 doubles and then the Urban Knights said saved two match points on the next court and came back to win 9-8(6).
Valeriia Kashina and Jackie Resler finished the year with a record of 15-5 as a team, which is the most doubles wins by any Cougar pairing in a single season since 2013 and second most since the 2008 season.
Lisa Schneider won her singles match 6-3, 6-1 at the No. 2 position for the Cougars' lone point. Meanwhile, Natalie Johnson led 6-2, 5-2, but the Urban Knights clinched the victory, while the Cougars' No. 1 served for the match.
