AZUSA, Calif. – After two marathon matches against out of region opponents, Azusa Pacific women's tennis was no worse for wear in the return to competition against PacWest opponents by beating Stanislaus State 7-0 without dropping a set on Saturday morning at the Munson & Bavougian Tennis Complex.
Shannele Lopez shined in the shutout with a 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 6 singles to clinch the victory in what turned out to be a statement win for the Cougars, who are one of just two PacWest teams left that are undefeated against conference opponents. The other is Dominican, which defeated Stanislaus State 4-3 a week ago and is amid a Southern California trip this week.
"I thought the win was very efficient," Lopez said. "Everyone got the job done. We always give it our all and when we do that, we know that we can win these kinds of matches. Every girl is important to our success and has proved over the course of the season that we have the talent to win."
The Cougars made it look easy against a team that had upset defending PacWest Champion Academy of Art earlier in the season.
Katherine Nguyen completed the Cougars' sweep of all 12 singles sets. The Cougars' veteran found herself in a familiar situation as the last player left on court.
She proved that her experience in that role has made her an embattled competitor ready for the big moments. At 5-all in the second set, she broke Maiah White to earn a chance to serve out the match. Then in the big moment, she came through with a hold to win 6-2, 7-5 and complete the sweep.
With the win, No. 9 Azusa Pacific improves to 9-2, while Stanislaus State drops to 6-4. The Cougars are also 7-0 when facing PacWest opponents with a big match coming up on Tuesday against Hawai`i Pacific.
In doubles,
Vini Bautista and
Julia Jordan put together a dominant performance to take the No. 1 doubles set 6-1. At No. 3 doubles,
Tina Moser and Lopez took an early break lead and were in position to take the set. However, before they could finish,
Stina Larsson and
Karola Suviste mounted a quick comeback, winning four games in a row to come back from 2-4 and win the set 6-4, clinching the doubles point. They are now 8-1 in doubles this season.
In singles play, Jordan and Lopez both got off to fast starts winning their opening sets at love. Then Bautista won five games in a row to take her first set at No. 1 singles against Alyssa Tay. Bautista and Jordan went on to both have match point at the top-2 singles spots at the same time. Jordan converted hers first for a 6-0, 6-1 win against Emma Yu to take a 2-0 lead as a team.
A minute later, Bautista scrambled through a long deuce point, keeping the rally going long enough before she forced Tay into an error to win her match, 6-2, 6-2. With a 3-0 lead, Lopez then clinched the match with her 6-0, 6-1 win over Parker Orlando.
"Parker was a tough opponent," Lopez said. "She's a very gritty player. When you play at No. 6, you build a game where you have to be gritty too. I've had to develop where I can be more aggressive or more of a grinder. It's what I love about playing at No. 6 singles.
"Today, I was focused on being consistent. It isn't my favorite style to play, but when I have a tough opponent, I have to be patient and wait for the right opportunities. I felt like that's what I did well today was being patient and waiting for the right chances. We had a lot of close games."
The three remaining matches all went to the Cougars in straight sets. Larsson made it a 5-0 lead with her 6-2, 6-2 win over Annabelle Mulick, who is the player with the best results in the Warriors' lineup this season. Only seconds later, Suviste made the overall score 6-0 as she won 6-4, 6-2. Suviste built an early lead in her match but got broken back to get back on serve at 5-4 in the first set, but the freshman wasn't phased on broke right back for the set.
That left Nguyen alone on court. She built a 4-1 lead with two breaks in the opening set. She lost a long deuce point in the seventh game but still held on to take the opening set 6-2. The second set was even more of a battle, but Nguyen came up with the goods under pressure and pulled through for her 53
rd career singles win.
The win marks something of a milestone for Nguyen who has cracked the top-10 for most career singles wins in Azusa Pacific history. She is now tied with a trio of Cougar tennis stars from the previous decade: Casey Wetzig (class of 2011), Leah Hoffee (class of 2012), and Danae Ingwaldson (class of 2015).
The Cougars return to action on Tuesday against Hawai`i Pacific. The rivalry between the Cougars and Sharks reached its peak in 2021-23 when the top-2 teams in the PacWest faced off in the championship match three years in a row, and the Cougars won the first two of those encounters.
"We need to come out with the right energy against them," Lopez said. "That is one of the most important things for us this year. When we have good energy, it spreads to every girl. They're a different team, but it doesn't change the fact that they are HPU. We know how strong they have been over the years and it will be a good challenge for us."
The match will start at 2:30 p.m. at the Munson & Bavougian Tennis Complex. The Sharks will first have to play against Dominican on Sunday in a neutral site match.
