LAS VEGAS – The Cougars nearly pulled off a great comeback.

After dropping the three doubles matches, Azusa Pacific rallied well in singles but ultimately fell 5-4 to No. 12 Midwestern State in a neutral site contest.

With the setback the ninth-ranked Cougars move to 10-3. They welcome Academy of Art to the Foothills on Saturday afternoon for a critical west region match.

DOUBLES: While not a dominate performance the Mustangs were just effective enough to claim a 3-0 lead.

Daria Panferova and Maddie Rowe posted the first win of the courts as the tandem won the No. 3 contest 8-3. The final two matches came down to just one break of serve. Both the matches at the first and second positions were decided by an 8-6 count.

SINGLES: Despite a seemingly insurmountable deficit the Cougars were undaunted as they almost pulled off the rally.

Toby Micat and April Wong each won their matches in straight sets at the first and fourth positions respectively. Miclat was victorious 6-2, 6-4 while Wong recorded a 6-2, 6-1 triumph.

However, the Mustangs clinched the team match with a pair of straight set victories of their own. Midwestern State won 6-0, 6-2 and 6-2, 6-2 respectively at the No. 2 and No. 3 slots.

The final matches on the courts went to a third set super tiebreaker. Kara Hinton notched a 6-4, 4-6, 11-9 win at the No. 4 spot and Jackie Resler won 4-6, 6-1, 10-4 in the sixth position.