AZUSA, Calif. – Amid a rain-soaked March, Azusa Pacific has earned its fourth win in a row, beating Hawai`i Hilo 6-1 at home, winning five of the singles matches in straight sets on Friday afternoon at the Cougar Tennis Complex.
 
It is the Cougars' most convincing win over the Vulcans since 2016. Since then, Hawai`i Hilo has been one of the top teams in the PacWest, finishing in the top-3 at the conference championships every year. In fact, the PacWest final has featured Azusa Pacific and Hawai`i Hilo twice in that time with the Cougars winning their first title in 2018 before the Vulcans got their maiden title in 2021.
 
Friday's match, however, was a one-sided win for the Cougars after having beaten the Vulcans in Hawai`i last month. Hawai`i Hilo is now 1-3 to start its busy trip in California, which features eight matches in nine days.
 
Leyton Bohren got the key win for the Cougars at the No. 2 singles position, beating the No. 74 player in the nation Luca Matheiowetz in convincing fashion, 6-2, 6-2. Leyton has now won four matches in a row to improve to 4-0 at the No. 2 singles position.
 
His win gave the Cougars a 3-0 lead. Azusa Pacific opened by dominating the top-2 doubles matches. Leyton Bohren and Marko Nikoliuk won at love, while Elias Emilio Walter and Miha Velicki also cruised to a 6-1 win at No. 2 doubles to clinch the first point of the match.
 
Walter got the Cougars' first singles win with a 6-1, 6-2 triumph at No. 3 singles. He defeated Joshua Liu who had a key win over the Cougars in the Vulcans' 2021 PacWest title win. Walter now has a team-best seven-match winning streak, and the Cougars are 22-6 as a team at the Nos. 2 & 3 singles positions.
 
Vili Bonev clinched the win at 4-0 for the Cougars, earning a 6-1, 6-4 triumph at No. 6 singles. Velicki then won 6-2, 6-2 at No. 4 singles. Nikoliuk picked up his third win in a row at No. 1 singles for Azusa Pacific with a 6-3, 7-6(2) win over Filippo Di Perna.
 
The Vulcans' lone point came at No. 5 singles where Agustin Gentile came from behind to escape a tough battle with Brody Bohren, 2-6, 6-4, 11-9 in the supertiebreaker.
 
Azusa Pacific is now 7-2 on the season against PacWest opponents and 11-3 overall. The Cougars have the most wins in the conference against PacWest teams just a couple weeks before the first conference rankings are released. The top-8 teams at the end of the regular season advance to the PacWest Championships and four teams will then go on to the NCAA West Regional.
 
The Cougars' next opponent will be Middlebury on March 22.