FRESNO, Calif. – After winning the first set and five of the singles courts and taking the sixth into a tiebreaker, Azusa Pacific still needed a three-set triumph from Joan Crespo to avoid a Fresno scare, winning 4-3 against Fresno Pacific winning four singles matches after dropping the doubles point on Wednesday afternoon at the Haak Tennis Complex.
 
With the overall score tied 3-3, Crespo held on for a 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 win at No. 5 singles over Emilio Seelbach to clinch the Cougars' sixth win in a row to start the season. This was the Cougars' second 4-3 win over a PacWest opponent already this season, after beating Point Loma by the same score.
 
Earlier in the day, the Cougars were announced as the No. 11 team in the nation, which was the highest ranking for a PacWest team. Fresno Pacific entered the match undefeated after being named the PacWest Team of the Week each of the last two weeks, but the Sunbirds' perfect start to the season came to an end with Crespo's clutch three-set triumph.
 
The Sunbirds showed why they were undefeated to start the season, getting the first point of the day on their home courts, winning doubles by taking the second and third courts by the same score, 6-4. Miha Velicki and Elias Emilio Walter, who earned their first win of the season at the fourth time of asking last week, looked close to the form they had shown over the last four years, leading 6-5 at No. 1 doubles when the set was halted.
 
At No. 1 singles, Walter put the Cougars on the board. He was facing Brodie Sodersten, whose strong performance so far this season has seen him move up to the No. 1 singles position for the Sunbirds, but Walter had no problems in his 6-2, 6-0 win. He now has a 21-match winning streak against PacWest opponents in dual matches.
 
Aside from Walter's landslide victory, the remaining five singles matches were all competitive and lengthy affairs, but the Cougars had the early lead in many of them. David James Brownlee gave the Cougars their first lead of the day with his 6-4, 7-5 win at No. 4 singles. He has won all 12 singles sets he has played so far in his freshman season.
 
Soeren Grandke put the Cougars within a point of clinching the victory against the Sunbirds' former No. 1 singles player. After claiming a key tiebreaker in the first set 7-5, he went on the win the match 7-6(5), 6-2 to make the overall score 3-1.
 
Brody Bohren has made strong starts to all of his matches this year, having won or at least led by a set in the first set of every match. However, Sven Bangert came from behind to defeat Bohren, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 for the Sunbirds' first singles win. Then Martin Ramirez edged out a 7-6(6), 7-5 win over Miha Velicki at No. 3 singles to tie the overall score at 3-3.
 
That left all the attention on junior transfer Joan Crespo, who showed why he is the third-highest ranked player in the PacWest this year. After a disappointing second set, he bounced back to win the third and deciding set for the entire match 6-3, lifting the Cougars to another 4-3 win.
 
From one undefeated opponent to another, one team will no longer remain undefeated after Azusa Pacific faces Concordia in its next match on Saturday at 3 p.m. The Golden Eagles also won on Wednesday, beating Point Loma 5-2 on the road to improve to 5-0. This will be the Cougars' third road contest already this year against a PacWest team that is undefeated going into the match. There will be live stats for Saturday's encounter.