AZUSA, Calif. – Azusa Pacific men's tennis won its 2020 home opener over CalTech by a 4-0 score, however, it by no means came easy.

The Cougars took the first point of the match in doubles. The #2 doubles pairing of Jakob Schnaitter and Ryan Nuno got things rolling for Azusa Pacific, as they grabbed a quick 6-1 win. CalTech would battle back to even the score at 1-1 in doubles, as Varun Shanker and James Wei defeated the Cougar duo of Leyton Bohren and Sam Sippel, 6-3. Azusa Pacific won the doubles point following a 6-3 win for Ethan Smith and Dillon Barnard in the #3 doubles spot.

In the singles portion of the match, four of the six matchups went three sets. Sippel claimed the first singles win for the Cougars, as he defeated James Wei 6-2, 6-4 in the #2 spot. Azusa Pacific would then go up 3-0 overall with a 7-6 (7-5), 7-5 by Smith in the #4 match. Needing one more point to take the match, Azusa Pacific was challenged by the visiting Beavers.

Schnaitter took the lead at #1, winning the first set 7-5. Cole Rassner, who played #5 singles, also went up 1-0 for the Cougars with a 7-5 set win. Meanwhile, Jesse Haas and Caden Samkutty went down 0-1.

In the second sets of all four matches, the score was evened at 1-1, setting up an ending in which the Cougars needed one final victory. The final point came from Rassner, who bounced back from a second-set defeat to win the third set 7-5.

Azusa Pacific is now 2-0 to start the season, as the Cougars defeated Pomona-Pitzer in a road match to start the day. Results for that match will be posted as soon as available.