AZUSA, Calif. -- Azusa Pacific earned a 4-0 shutout victory over Concordia in the NCAA Division II Women's Tennis West Regional, beating the Golden Eagles for the fourth time this season, advancing past the first round of the NCAA postseason for the fourth-consecutive season.
Eleonora Liga opened singles with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Heather Richards at the top singles spot. Liga has collected 24 singles wins this season at the No. 1 position, setting a new Azusa Pacific record. The Cougars' record for most singles wins at the No. 1 position in a single season was previously set at 23 by Toby Miclat in 2018. Liga also now has a 22-match winning streak and will finish the season with an undefeated record in singles when playing in the state of California.
The Cougars record against Concordia this season matches the score of their last two wins over the Golden Eagles with the fourth win this season, and now have 15-consecutive team points over the West Region's No. 3 team. The Cougars advance into the NCAA Division II National Championships, which are in Orlando, Florida, at the USTA National Campus.
Azusa Pacific won each of the last three meetings with Concordia without dropping a match for 15 team points in a row. This is the fourth season in a row that the Cougars have won in the opening round of the NCAA postseason. Azusa Pacific now has a 6-4 record in NCAA postseason matches in program history.
As host and No. 2 seed, the Cougars got off to a fast start thanks to
Miruna Tudor and
Vini Bautista rushing to a 6-1 win at No. 2 doubles. The Cougars No. 1 duo then clinched the first point of the match with Liga and
Madison Kane combining for a 6-3 win at No. 1 doubles.
Liga and Kane kept the momentum going into singles with Kane won 6-4, 6-2 to give Azusa Pacific a 3-0 lead shortly after Liga won her match. Kane earned her 14th singles win this season and the 42nd of her career.
In the four remaining matches, Azusa Pacific had won the first set on two of them. It was a race between Tudor and Bautista to clinch the match and Bautista got across the finish line first. She won by the same score as Kane 6-4, 6-2 to clinch the Cougars' ticket to Orlando. Tudor led her match 6-3, 3-1 when the match was clinched.
April Wong trailed, but led the second set 4-6, 4-2, and
Katia Betancourt was starting her third set 1-6, 6-1, 0-1 when the match was halted.
Azusa Pacific will go into the national tournament with a 22-5 record. The 22 wins equals the program record set in 2014 for most wins in a season, and it is the fourth time that head coach
Mark Bohren has led the team to 21 wins or more. The Cougars will find out later this week who their first round opponent will be at the USTA National Campus.
