OJAI, Calif. -- Senior David Goodman ended his Ojai career the same way he started it – as doubles champion. Goodman, who won the 2004 title with Gordon Hong, this time teamed with Matthijs Bolsius to claim the championship in an all-Azusa Pacific doubles final against teammates Patrick Kur and Mathias Weber.
Goodman and Bolsius won the 3-set final by a score of 6-3, 6-2, as the NAIA’s No. 2-ranked Azusa Pacific claimed its fifth straight team championship and its ninth in the past 10 years at the 107th Annual Ojai Valley Tennis Tournament Sunday.
Weber also advanced to the championship singles match, dropping a hard-fought 6-1, 6-3 decision to Concordia’s top singles player, Tim Kpulun, who was appearing in his third straight Ojai singles final after suffering defeats to Azusa Pacific’s Boris Bakalov in each of the past 2 seasons.
Sunday’s singles championship was the second tournament singles final reached this season by the true freshman Weber, who won the Small College Division at the Wilson/ITA Regional Championships held at Point Loma Nazarene University in September.
“Mathias also won the ITA regionals earlier in the year, which was a big tournament to win,” said Cougar head coach Mark Bohren. “He's a great tournament player. He was going through a freshman slump, but from this result it looks like he's back. He played like a warrior.”
Goodman was appearing in his third Ojai doubles championship match. After winning the doubles crown as a 2004 freshman, Goodman returned to the title match in 2005 before suffering a semifinals defeat a year ago. It was also the senior’s second title match appearance in a tournament setting after he and freshman Ronald Chow appeared in the doubles championship at the Wilson/ITA Regional Championships.
Both Cougar doubles teams received first-round byes on their way to the title match. Kur and Weber scored an 8-0 win over UC Santa Cruz’s Donny Divanian and Justin Dorfman in the Round of 16 and an 8-2 win over Point Loma Nazarene’s Cassidy Crail and Craig Johnson in the quarterfinals before posting an 8-5 semifinal victory over Sonoma State’s Andy Muesse and Zel Sperry. The Bolsius/Goodman tandem tallied an 8-1 Round of 16 win over Pomona-Pitzer’s Ben Kaufman and Don Richards and an 8-6 victory over Sonoma State’s Brandon Buskirk and Conner Olson in the quarterfinals before an 8-5 semifinal victory over Point Loma Nazarene’s Curt Wheeler and Philip Wulf secured their spot in the championship.
Weber’s run to the final featured 2 straight-sets victories in addition to a pair of 3-game wins, and he met up with Bolsius in a semifinal matchup. Weber defeated Concordia’s Daniel Ndlea in the round of 32 by a 6-7, 6-4, 6-4 margin, then posted a 6-1, 6-2 round of 16 victory over Claremont’s Thomas Keiffer. Weber’s run continued with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 quarterfinal success over Point Loma Nazarene’s Curt Wheeler before his 6-3, 6-3 win over Bolsius in the semifinals.
Chow won a pair of matches before his quarterfinal defeat to Kpulun, the eventual singles champ, and Bolsius went 3 sets in each of his first 2 wins before a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Concordia’s Augusto Elias catapulted him into the semifinal matchup with Weber.
The team championship does not affect Azusa Pacific’s final regular season team record of 22-3. The Cougars, who have appeared in 4 straight NAIA national championship matches, begin postseason play when they visit Point Loma Nazarene Thursday, May 3 at 8 a.m.. The winner of that semifinal will advance to Friday’s 9 a.m. NAIA Region II Championship match at Point Loma Nazarene.
Singles
Round of 32
Ronald Chow (APU) def. Drew Olian (Pomona-Pitzer), 6-1, 6-1
Mathias Weber (APU) def. Daniel Ndlea (Concordia), 6-7, 6-4, 6-4
Matthijs Bolsius (APU) def. Zel Sperry (Sonoma State), 3-6, 7-5, 6-3
Round of 16
Ronald Chow (APU) def. Jeff Stollberg (Sonoma State), 6-3, 6-2
Mathias Weber (APU) def. Thomas Keiffer (Claremont), 6-1, 6-2
Matthijs Bolsius (APU) def. Rajko Mldenevic (Hope International), 3-6, 7-5, 2-0 (ret.)
Quarterfinals
Tim Kpulun (Concordia) def. Ronald Chow (APU), 6-1, 6-1
Mathias Weber (APU) def. Curt Wheeler (Point Loma), 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
Matthijs Bolsius (APU) def. Augusto Elias (Concordia), 6-3, 6-4
Semifinals
Mathias Weber (APU) def. Matthijs Bolsius (APU), 6-3, 6-3
Final
Tim Kpulun (Concordia) def. Mathias Weber (APU), 6-1, 6-3
Doubles
Round of 16
Patrick Kur/Mathias Weber (APU) def. Donny Divanian/Justin Dorfman (Pomona-Pitzer), 8-0
Matthijs Bolsius/David Goodman (APU) def. Ben Kaufman/Don Richards (Pomona-Pitzer), 8-1
Quarterfinals
Patrick Kur/Mathias Weber (APU) def. Cassidy Crail/Craig Johnson (Point Loma), 8-2
Matthijs Bolsius/David Goodman (APU) def. Brandon Buskirk/Conner Olson (Sonoma State), 8-6
Semifinals
Patrick Kur/Mathias Weber (APU) def. Andy Muesse/Zel Sperry (Sonoma State), 8-5
Matthijs Bolsius/David Goodman (APU) def. Curt Wheeler/Philip Wulf (Point Loma)), 8-5
Final
Matthijs Bolsius/David Goodman (APU) def. Patrick Kur/Mathias Weber (APU), 6-3, 6-2
