AZUSA, Calif. – No. 29 Azusa Pacific men's tennis defeated Concordia by the same score that the Golden Eagles had defeated the Cougars earlier in the season, winning 5-2 to remain undefeated at home this season on Friday at the Cougar Tennis Complex.
 
In the first PacWest men's tennis rankings, which were released on Wednesday, Azusa Pacific came in at No. 4, just one spot behind Concordia, giving Friday's rematch increased importance. It is the first of two key matches this weekend for the Cougars, who will face Point Loma tomorrow, which is the No. 1 team in the PacWest.
 
Unlike the previous meeting between Azusa Pacific and Concordia, the Cougars won the doubles point by winning the top-2 doubles sets. Leyton Bohren and Marko Nikoliuk, ranked No. 36 in the nation, won 6-3 at No. 1 doubles to clinch the point after Miha Velicki and Elias Emilio Walter won 6-2 at No. 2 doubles.
 
The Cougars' No. 1 doubles team is now 14-3 on the season, and Bohren now has a 47-12 record at No. 1 doubles over the last three seasons, playing with Jakon Schnaitter, Ryan Nuno, and now Nikoliuk. Bohren is now just one win away from tying Oliver Frank for the sixth-most No. 1 doubles wins in Azusa Pacific history.
 
The Cougars and Golden Eagles each won the first set on three of the singles courts with Bohren, Walter and Velicki all grabbing early leads for Azusa Pacific. Walter wrapped up his match quickly with a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 3 singles, beating All-PacWest honoree Mike Jansen to make the overall score 2-0. Velicki then put the Cougars one point away from victory with a 6-4, 6-3 win at No. 4 singles.
 
At No. 2 singles, Bohren won the first set in a tiebreaker, 7-1, but Julius Seifert came back to win the second set. Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles won at No. 5 and No. 6 singles to make the overall score 3-2.
 
Nikoliuk dropped his opening set to Leon Czarnikau, who has been one of the PacWest's top singles players this year. However, the Cougars' No. 1 singles player came back to win the next set 6-2 and went up a break in the deciding set and held to win it 6-4 for a 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 match-clinching victory.
 
Bohren went on to win his match in a supertiebreaker, beating Seifert 7-6(1), 4-6, 1-0(8). Nikoliuk remains undefeated in four matches at the No. 1 singles position and Azusa Pacific remains undefeated as a team on their home courts with an 11-0 home record.
 
Friday's win also has big implications for the NCAA West Regional qualification. The top-4 teams in the PacWest advance and the Cougars now have wins over Point Loma, Concordia and Biola this season on their resume as they battle for a playoff berth.
 
Azusa Pacific's match at Point Loma will begin at 11 a.m. on Saturday, giving the Cougars less than a 24-hour turnaround to face the top-ranked team in the conference according to the first PacWest rankings. The Cougars won the previous encounter 5-2 at home and five of the six singles matches lasted three sets.