SURPRISE, Ariz. - Top-seed and two-time defending PacWest champion Azusa Pacific opened up play at the PacWest Tournament with a 4-1 quarterfinal win over #8 MSU Denver on Thursday morning. The Cougars are now 20-0 on the season, and will take on No. 5-seed Concordia tomorrow morning.

Elias Emilio Walter and Miha Velicki, who were announced as an All-PacWest First Team doubles duo yesterday, earned the Cougars' first win of the day with a 6-1 victory at No. 1. Walter and Velicki took the first five games of the set to win with relative ease. At No. 2, Brody Bohren and Cole Rassner captured the doubles point for the Cougars, as they were up 3-2 in the set before winning three in a row to close it out. 

Rassner would quickly add another point for the Cougars at No. 4 singles, where he shutout his opponent in consecutive 6-0, 6-0 fashion to give Azusa Pacific the 2-0 match lead. Over at No. 5, Constantin Barth delivered the third point of the day for the top-seed, as he won his first set by a 6-2 score, and then came back from an early 1-3 deficit in the second set to win 6-4. Barth is 15-0 this season, and all but one of his victories have come in straight-sets.

MSU Denver got its only point of the afternoon with a win at No. 2, but any energy or excitement would be short-lived, as Walter, the PacWest Player of the Year, delivered the match-clinching victory at No. 1, winning 6-4, 6-4 to send the Cougars through to the semifinals. 

With Walter's win, the match was called, however Soeren Grandke was up 7-5, 3-2 at No. 3, while Bohren held a third set advantage at No. 6 (6-1, 4-6, 1-0).

Up Next: The semifinal match against Concordia will start at 9:00 am tomorrow morning, and live scoring can be followed via iOnCourt.