AZUSA, Calif. – With the early spring sun falling towards the horizon on a late warm March afternoon, the hopes of an Azusa Pacific upset were heading in the same direction. Fortunately optimism wasn't at a premium.
Needing to win the final three matches on the courts, the Cougars did just that in posting a thrilling 5-4 win against No. 1 Hawai'i Pacific on Tuesday.
The victory is the first ever in program history against the Sharks as the No. 13 Cougars up their record to 13-6 while the nation's best team falls to 11-2. Moreover, it is the first time any Azusa Pacific team has knocked off a No. 1 team since transitioning from NAIA to NCAA for the 2014-15 season.
As the contest unfolded momentum took its sweet time deciding which way it wanted to swing as mere points decided the outcome.
POST MATCH INTERVIEW
DOUBLES: With each match going down the last swings in each game, any team score was possible.
The first match complete came at the No. 1 slot. Petra Ivankovic and Toby Miclat raced out to a 4-1 lead but the Sharks duo of Barbora Kijasova and Lena Lutzeier rallied by winning seven of the last nine games to secure the first team point.
And somewhat similar scenario unfolded at the No. 3 position. Lara Meccico and Oceane Adam held the advantage with an early break but Courtney Page and Mikayla Rinker broke back to tie it at 6-6. However, the Hawai'i Pacific tandem won the final two games to get the win and go up 2-0 in the team match.
As tight as those two contests were, the No.2 match was razor thin. The Azusa Pacific duo of Kara Hinton and Diana Baumgartnere held a 6-2 edge but Hawai'i Pacific's Leticia dos Santos and Debora Echeverria rallied to win five straight. The Cougars fought off a match point to force a tiebreaker at 7-7. In that extra session, Azusa Pacific fought off another match point en route to winning the last three points to win the tiebreaker 8-6.
SINGLES: There were times it looked like Hawai'i Pacific could run away with a convincing win but a determined Azusa Pacific squad playing some of its best tennis of the season and would not be denied.
Azusa Pacific won the first singles match off the courts as Jackie Resler was in control throughout in notching a 6-4, 6-1 win. Hawai'i Pacific moved within a point of the team win as they won the next two completed contests. Thirty-fourth ranked Adam recorded a 7-6 (2), 6-2 win at the No. 4 contest just before Meccico, the 40th ranked player in the nation, recorded a hard fought straight set (7-5, 6-1) win at the second position.
What happened over the next 60 minutes will not soon before forgotten by the players. Baumgartnere gave the Cougars their third team point, and some hope, with a 6-1, 7-6 (4) victory at the No. 3 slot. The German native played her best match of the year with precision winners from the backhand and forehand side.
In the No. 5 contest April Wong cruised to a first set win but was pushed back in the second frame as the match went to a third set. Wong took a 4-1 lead in the final set and battled with a lot of moxie and gusto in posting her 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 victory.
It all came down to the top match where two of the nation's best singles players put on an incredible display of drama. Lutzeier, holding down the No. 1 spot in the nation, won the first frame but Micat responded to force a third set for the ages. Despite being down 3-1 Miclat put the match back on serve and had a chance to win the match on serve. However, Lutzeier broke serve to force a third set tiebreaker to decide it all. Miclat went up 4-1 and eventually had two match points. However, Lutzeier fought them off as the two switch sides of the court. Miclat won the last two points to seal the 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (6) win.
UP NEXT: The Cougars will board a plane this weekend bound for Florida where they will play a pair of matches in the Sunshine State.
