AZUSA, Calif. – Back into familiar territory.

Azusa Pacific qualified for their second straight, and third in four seasons, NCAA Division II national tournament with a 5-1 victory against UC San Diego on Monday afternoon in a West Region playoff contest.

With the victory the No. 11 Cougars up their record to 26-2 and posted their third win of the season against their southern California rivals. Moreover, it is the third straight season the two teams have met with a spot at the national tournament on the line.

The Cougars will travel to Surprise, Ariz. for the 16-team tournament which begins on Wednesday, May 9. Their opponent will be revealed on Wednesday when the NCAA announces the draw.

DOUBLES: The Cougars were solidly in front throughout in two of the matches and nearly rallied in the other.

The first contest complete saw the No. 3 duo of Ryan Nuno and Jesse Haas break out to a 3-0 lead and never look back in their 8-2 win. Heading into the contest the pair was looking for their first win together against the Tritons this season. They got it in convincing fashion.

At the No. 1 position Oliver Frank and Jakob Schnaitter got a break early in their contest and were never threatened. The pair recorded an 8-4 win as attention shifted to the final doubles contest. Justin Zhang and Eric Tseng raced out to a 5-2 lead and looked to be on solid footing. However, Christian Schmid and Antonio Pejic won four straight games to take a 6-5 lead. None the less Zhang and Tseng sealed their win with three consecutive game wins in getting UCSD's only team point.

SINGLES: It was a coronation during the solo performances.

Schnaitter was almost unstoppable during his 6-1, 6-1 win at the No. 3 slot. The freshman had pinpoint control throughout his contest in posting his 22nd win of the season. Frank provided the Cougars their fourth team point with a victory by the same score against Tseng at the top position.

It was a race to see who would win the clinching team point. Ronald Kang responded from an early deficit then never looked back in his 7-5, 6-1 victory at the No. 4 spot to seal the contest.

Schmid was mere points away from a win but his match went unfinished with him leading 6-3, 5-0 at the second spot.

Nuno was leading in the second set at the No. 5 slot while Pejic had won his first set in a tiebreaker. Neither match needed to be concluded.