AZUSA, Calif. - Azusa Pacific is headed to Nationals for the fourth time in the NCAA era, after the Cougars knocked off rival Biola by a 4-1 score on Tuesday afternoon in the West Region #2 match.

Azusa Pacific opened the afternoon by securing the always crucial doubles point, behind a pair of victories. On court No. 3, Ethan Smith and Sam Sippel defeated the Eagles' Callen Hein and Isaac Cordova by a score of 6-1. For Smith & Sippel, it was their sixth-consecutive victory, and they have held their opponents to three or fewer games in each of those wins. Elias Emilio Walter and Miha Velicki won the second doubles match for the Cougars, defeating Sebastian Herrera and Carlos Solorzano by a 6-3 tally to put Azusa Pacific up 1-0.

Facing an early deficit in the match, Biola was able to challenge the Cougars early on in singles, as Azusa Pacific found itself trailing in several of the matchups in the first set. The Eagles would win three of the six first sets, however, Nuno at No. 1, Emilio Walter at No. 4, and Velicki at No. 5 would claim first set wins for the Cougars. 

Nuno secured the first singles win of the afternoon, defeating Herrera in straight-sets (6-4, 6-4). Tuesday's battle marked the third time that Nuno and Herrera had played one another this season, and while Herrera won the first matchup of the year, Nuno went on to win the final two. 

Over at No. 4, Emilio Walter beat Tomas Gomez by a 6-4 score in the first set, and jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the second. Gomez put up a fight in the second set, drawing within one game at 5-4, but Emilo Walter put it way in the 10th game to win 6-4 and put Azusa Pacific up 3-0 overall.

Biola's lone point was claimed at No. 6, where a three-set battle between Cordova and Ivan Noel Hornung went Cordova's way.

Cordova's win gave the Eagles a bit of hope, as they needed to win all three of the remaining matches. However, Sippel would close the door on Biola, ending the Eagles' season while sending the Cougars on to Nationals with a win at No. 2. After Alexi Prokopchuk beat Sippel in the first set by a 6-2 score, Sippel roared back in the second set, shutting Prokopchuk out by a 6-0 score to force a third and final set. With the game score knotted at 6-6 after 12 games in the third, the match headed to a tiebreak. In the tiebreak, the two would battle back and forth, with neither player taking a lead larger than two points. In the end, it was Sippel that came out on top, winning 7-5 in the tiebreak to clinch the match for the Cougars

"These matches at the end of the season are always close," said head coach Mark Bohren, "We were prepared for a difficult match and that is what we got.  Hats off to Coach Goodman and the Biola men's team for a tremendous season."

UP NEXT: Azusa Pacific will head to Altamonte Springs, Florida, where Nationals will be held May 17-22. "Our team is eager to compete at Nationals this next week," said Bohren, "We are playing some really good tennis right now, and we are excited for the opportunity ahead of us." The Cougars last trip to Nationals was in 2018, when Azusa Pacific fell to Columbus State in the national semifinals. In addition to 2018, the Cougars reached Nationals in 2015 & 2016. Stay tuned to APUCougars.com for more information to be posted soon on who and when the Cougars will play on Wednesday, May 17.