FRESNO, Calif. -- Last week, Azusa Pacific tennis competed in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Small College Regional Championships that were held at Fresno State University. Following three days of competition, the Cougars emerged with two regional titles and a handful of solid performances. Nora Liga earned the women's singles title, and the duo of Leyton Bohren and Miha Velicki won the men's doubles crown. 

Liga was dominant throughout the tournament, as she won every set and only dropped more than two games in a set on two occasions through her first five matches. The first true challenge of the week came in the final, as the first-year Cougar was matched up with Colbeyshae Emery of rival Biola. Liga took the early lead in the championship bout with a 6-3 first set win, but Emery stormed back with a 6-0 set two victory. The 1-1 tie set up a super tiebreaker, which Liga took control of early and rolled to a 10-1 win to secure the regional championship. "Nora played very well all week," said head coach Mark Bohren, "She did a great job of playing to her strengths but also adjusting when she needed to. I am excited to see Nora compete in a few weeks at the national level."

In the men's doubles final, it was an all-Azusa Pacific affair, with Bohren and Velicki taking on the team of Ryan Nuno and Elias Walter. When all was said and done, it was Bohren and Velicki who emerged victorious in the hard-fought match, as the final score was 8-7(7). "We had a very good showing in doubles," said Coach Bohren, "To have both teams in a final is always exciting, and they did a good job of competing and challenging each other." While this was Leyton Bohren and Velicki's first tournament playing together, it is the second-straight ITA Regional Doubles title for Leyton, as he won the championship in 2019 alongside Jesse Haas. 

In men's singles, Nuno took second place. In the third round, Nuno took on his doubles teammate. After Walter won the first set 6-4, Nuno bounced back with a 6-0 second set win, and ultimately advanced to the quarterfinals with a 10-7 victory in the super tiebreaker. In the semifinals, Nuno once again found himself playing in a super tiebreaker, and he was able to emerge with a 6-4, 0-6 (11-9) win to advance to the finals. In the championship match, Nuno fell by a 6-2, 2-6 (10-8) score.

The Cougars had two teams compete in the women's doubles bracket: Liga played with Madison Kane, and Carolyn Brooner and April Wong were paired up. Both pairs advanced to the quarterfinals.

"Overall, it was a good weekend for both our men's and women's teams," said Coach Bohren, "For the most part, everyone competed pretty well. There was a lot that we learned this week, and that will help us move forward throughout the rest of the year."

Liga, Leyton and Velicki will be headed to Rome, Georgia for Nationals, which will be held October 14-18.

To view the entire bracket and results from this past week's West Region Championships, click HERE.