AZUSA, Calif. – No. 15 Azusa Pacific came up just short against No. 4 Hawai'i Pacific, as the Sharks escaped a windy and chilly afternoon in Azusa with a 4-3 victory.

After Hawai'i Pacific won the No. 3 doubles matchup by a 6-2 score, Eleonora Liga and Madison Kane, ranked as the nation's #3 doubles duo, won their third consecutive match in rather comfortable fashion, posting a 6-2 victory. The doubles point was decided on court No. 2, where Hawai'i Pacific's Abigail Wild & Elodie Busson and Azusa Pacific's Miruna Tudor and April Wong battled to a 6-6 score. In the tie break, Wild & Busson would emerge with the win to seal the doubles point with a 7-4 tiebreak victory. 

The Sharks pushed their lead up to 3-0, with straight set wins at No. 3 and No. 3 singles. 

Katherine Nguyen captured the first point of the day for the Cougars, winning 6-2, 6-2 at No. 6. Nguyen is now unbeaten in her last 22 matches dating back to last season, and her last 15 wins have all occurred in straight-set fashion. 

At No. 2, Busson delivered the match-clinching point for Hawai'i Pacific, winning 7-5, 7-5 to make it 4-1 overall. 

Miruna Tudor, who won her first set by a 7-5 score at No. 5 for the Cougars, was up 3-0 in the second set on Nicole Ballach, when Ballach retired. Tudor has now won six consecutive matches.

While the overall match had been decided, the No. 1 matchup was a thrilling duel between the Sharks' Shaline Pipa and the Cougars' Eleonora Liga. Liga took the first set 6-2, but Pipa answered back with a 7-5 win to force a third and deciding set. In the third set, Liga would emerge with a 6-4 triumph, which avenged a straight-set loss that Liga suffered to Pipa back in February. Liga is now 7-1 at No. 1 this season.

Up Next: Tomorrow, the Cougars will travel to Irvine, where they will take on Concordia at 1:00 pm. The Golden Eagles enter tomorrow's match with a 2-0 record on the season.