AZUSA, Calif. – Azusa Pacific hosted UC San Diego on Friday, and the Tritons escaped with a 4-3 victory.
 
In the match, the Cougars took a 3-0 lead. Azusa Pacific earned its first point of the day in doubles. Ryan Nuno and Ethan Smith teamed up in the #3 doubles spot, and they posted a 6-2 win to get things going. They were followed up by Jakob Schnaitter and Sam Sippel, who won their #2 doubles match with a 6-3 final. The #1 doubles team of Jesse Haas and Leyton Bohren were locked in a 4-4 tie and did not finish the remainder of their matchup since the doubles point had already been locked up for the Cougars.
 
With the doubles point claimed, Azusa Pacific needed three more points to win the match. Singles started out promising for the Cougars, as both Jakob Schnaitter and Sam Sippel won in two sets to take a 3-0 match lead. Sippel was the first to finish in the #2 spot, winning 6-1, 6-1. Schnaitter followed with another two-set victory for the Cougars in the #1 spot, claiming 6-0, 6-1 set victories.
 
Azusa Pacific needed one more victory out of the remaining four matchups, and all attention was eventually put on the matchup at #3 singles. UC San Diego fought back by winning #4 singles, #5 singles, and #6 singles, tying the match up at 3-3. Ryan Nuno for the Cougars and Mark Isaia of UC San Diego were locked in a battle at #3, with the winner clinching the overall match victory. Isaia took set one 6-4, and Nuno responded with a 7-5 victory in set two. In the third set, the two battled back-and-forth, with both needing breaks to get back on serve and grab the momentum. The match went the distance, needing a tie-break that Isaia won 7-3 to clinch the match for UC San Diego.
 
With the loss, Azusa Pacific is now 2-1 overall on the young season. The Cougars will be right back in action tomorrow, as they take on Point Loma at 11:00 am in Azusa.