AZUSA, Calif. - Azusa Pacific improved its record to 4-2 on Saturday after the Cougars beat Colorado Mesa 6-1 in the morning, and then won a hard fought 4-3 contest against PacWest rival Hawai'i Hilo in the afternoon. 

MATCH ONE: Azusa Pacific 6, Colorado Mesa 1

The Cougars took two out of three in doubles to start the day, with Ryan Nuno and Sam Sippel winning 6-1 at no. 1, and Cole Rassner and Jakob Schnaitter claiming a 6-1 win at no. 3. The Mavericks were able to take a 7-6 win in the no. 3 matchup, but Azusa Pacific had already clinched the doubles point.

In singles, Sippel jumped out to a 6-1 lead after the first set in the no. 2 matchup, and he would walk away with the win after his opponent retired prior to the second game of the second set. Schnaitter gave the Cougars a 3-0 match lead due to his performance at no. 1, where he went 6-1, 6-3. Nuno came through with the clincher at no. 3, cruising to a 6-1 win in set one, and then securing the match with a 7-5 victory in the second set. Rassner added the Cougars' fifth point of the match with a 6-0, 6-2 win at no. 5, and then Albertus du Plessis made his collegiate debut with a 8-7 pro set victory.

MATCH TWO: Azusa Pacific 4, Hawai'i Hilo 3

The Cougars and Vulcans have become quite the rivals in the PacWest, with the two programs usually in contention for the conference title at the end of the season. Saturday's early season matchup had a championship feel to it.

Azusa Pacific opened doubles with a 6-1 win at no. 2 by Sippel and Nuno. The Vulcans would answer back with a 6-3 win at no. 3, putting all the pressure on the no. 1 matchup to determine which side would emerge with a 1-0 match lead. It was the duo of Leyton Bohren and Schnaitter who delivered for the Cougars, taking the 6-4 victory and giving Azusa Pacific the advantage heading into singles.

Sippel pushed the match lead up to 2-0 for the Cougars, as he finished 6-3, 6-0 at no. 2. Hawai'i Hilo claimed the no. 5 matchup to make it 2-1 overall, and then Schnaitter won 7-5, 6-3 at no. 1 to put Azusa Pacific in a position of needing just one more singles victory to take the match. The Vulcans kept their hopes alive with a 6-0, 6-4 win at no. 6, but Nuno would once again come through in the clutch for the Cougars at no. 3. Nuno took the first set 6-3, but Hawai'i Hilo's Chun En Wu was able to win the second set 6-4 and force a third set. The third and deciding set was all Nuno, as he ended up winning 6-1 to clinch the match.

"Hilo has been a big rival for us the past few years, and it was another exciting match between the two of us today," said head coach Mark Bohren, "It was fun to watch our guys go at it today, and I imagine that we will see Hilo down the road at some point later this season."

Azusa Pacific will be back in action on Monday, when Division I Weber State will visit Azusa for a 2:30 pm match.