WAIPAHU, Hawai'i - Azusa Pacific claimed a big road win on Saturday afternoon, as the Cougars fought to a 4-3 victory over Hawai'i Hilo. The match provided a bit of revenge for the Cougars, with Hawai'i Hilo being the team that knocked off Azusa Pacific in last season's PacWest Championship match. 

In the No. 1 doubles match, Leyton Bohren and Ryan Nuno teamed up for their third victory of the season, winning 6-3 over Martin Soukal and Alessio Demichelis. Hawai'i Hilo took the No. 3 matchup, so the doubles point was up for grabs on court No. 2. The duo of Miha Velicki and Elias Emilio Walter stepped up and delivered for the Cougars, winning 7-5 over Luca Matheiowetz and Joshua Liu to give Azusa Pacific the 1-0 advantage heading into singles. 

The first singles court to finish was No. 4, where Leyton Bohren followed up a 6-4 first set win with a dominant 6-1 victory to score the second point of the match for Azusa Pacific. Hawai'i Hilo was able to score a point at No. 1, where Soukal beat Nuno 6-3, 6-1. 

In the No. 2 match, Sam Sippel was able to hold off Demichelis for a straight-set win (6-4, 6-4) to put the Cougars just one win away from victory at 3-1. 

The match-clinching win was secured by Walter at No. 3 against Luca Checchia. In the first set, the two battled to a 6-6 score, which forced a tiebreak. In the tiebreak, Walter earned the 7-4 win to take set number one. With momentum on his side following the tiebreaker, Walter took control of the second set and ultimately won 6-2 to seal the Azusa Pacific victory.

While the match had been decided, the two teams played to completion, with Hawai'i Hilo winning in three-sets at both No. 5 and No.6.

Up Next: The Cougars will now return to Southern California, with four road matches ahead. Azusa Pacific will take on Biola (Sat., Feb. 19), Point Loma (Mon., Feb. 21), UC Riverside (Wed., Feb. 23) and Concordia (Sat., Feb. 26). The Cougars' next home match will be against Weber State on March 9.