SURPRISE, Ariz. - No. 2-seed Azusa Pacific is headed back to the PacWest Championship for the second-straight season, as the Cougars beat No. 6-seed Point Loma 4-1 in the semifinals of the PacWest Tournament this morning. 

After Point Loma opened the match with a 6-2 win at No. 1 doubles, Elias Emilio Walter and Miha Velicki took the doubles matchup on court No. 2 by a 6-2 score, which turned the No. 3 match into the point-deciding dual. Azusa Pacific would emerge with doubles point, after Ethan Smith and Sam Sippel claimed a 6-3 victory to make it 1-0 Cougars heading into singles.

Ryan Nuno would quickly put another point on the board for the Cougars in singles, winning at No. 1 in straight sets (6-1, 6-0) after just 39 minutes. For Nuno, it was his fourth-consecutive straight set victory.

Sam Sippel gave the Cougars a 3-0 match lead, as he won the No. 2 matchup in under an hour as well. Sippel took set one by a 6-1 tally, and then won the second set 6-3, improving his straight-set win streak to five matches.

Point Loma would score a point at No. 3 with a straight set win, but just a few seconds later, Miha Velicki delivered the match-clinching victory at No. 5. Velicki won in straight sets, winning 7-5 in the first set, followed by a 6-3 triumph in the second to secure the Cougars' semifinal victory.

Up Next: Azusa Pacific will advance to its seventh PacWest Championship match, seeking to win the program's second conference title (2018). The Cougars will meet Hawai'i Pacific in the title match tomorrow at 9:00 am, which marks the fourth time in which the Cougars and Sharks have met one another in the PacWest Championship match (2014, 15, 16, 17). The Cougars will be looking to make a breakthrough, as Hawai'i Pacific has won all four of the previous title bouts.