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Miha
Holly Magnuson
6
Winner Azusa Pacific APU-MT (14-5)
1
Fresno Pacific Sunbirds FPU_MT (3-9)
Winner
Azusa Pacific APU-MT
(14-5)
6
Final
1
Fresno Pacific Sunbirds FPU_MT
(3-9)

Match Recap: Men's Tennis |

Final from Fresno

Azusa Pacific men's tennis defeated Fresno Pacific 6-1 on the road Friday morning.

FRESNO, Calif. -- Azusa Pacific traveled to Fresno Pacific for a meeting with the Sunbirds on Friday morning, resulting in their 14th victory of the season. Azusa Pacific is now 14-5, while the Sunbirds drop to 3-9 on the season. The final PacWest rankings had the Cougars in 3rd ahead of the conference Championships in Surprise, Ariz. on April 19-22.

How it Happened: The Cougars claimed the doubles point quickly with Leyton Bohren and Marko Nikoliuk winning 6-2 at No. 1, before Miha Velicki and Elias Emilio Walter won 6-2 at No. 2 doubles. Dylan Parsley and Cole Rassner led their match 5-3 at No. 3 doubles when the doubles point was clinched.

At No. 1 singles, Nikoliuk set the tone early for the Cougars with a 6-1 win in set one, while on No. 2, Walter quickly won his first set 6-2. Nikoliuk closed it out at No. 1 with a 6-4 win in set two, giving the Cougars a 2-0 lead.

Azusa Pacific ran into trouble when Walter lost his second set 6-2 and Velicki fell in his first set at No. 3, 2-6. Walter rebounded quickly, winning the deciding set 6-1, giving the Cougars a 3-0 lead. 

Velicki clinched the match for the Cougars at No. 3 after he battled to win his next two sets, 6-1, 7-5. 

Playing out the rest of the match, Rassner won comfortably at No. 4, 6-1, 6-0, before Albertus du Plessis fell on No. 6, 6-4, 6-3. Vili Bonev then cruised to a 6-4, 6-3 victory on No. 5, closing out the match for the Cougars by a final score of 6-1.

Nikoliuk claimed his fifth victory at No. 1 on the season, while Nikoliuk and Bohren earned an impressive 16th victory at No. 1 doubles on the year, going 9-1 in their last 10 matches, and in doubles No. 2, Walter and Velicki earned their eighth victory. Overall, Nikoliuk and Walter lead the Cougars with Nikoliuk having a 14-4 recored and Walter collecting a 13-4 record. Velicki has also found his groove in singles at No. 4, holding a 9-3 record so far this season. 

Up Next: Azusa Pacific will close out the regular season at home before they gear up for the PacWest Championships. The Cougars will host Claremont Mudd-Scripps on April 12th at 2:30 p.m.

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