AZUSA, Calif. -- Sophomore Matthijs Bolsius joined 3-time NAIA All-American junior Patrick Kur to lead Azusa Pacific’s postseason honors list with NAIA All-American first team recognition.
Sophomore Mathias Weber earned NAIA All-American second team honors for the second straight season, and he was also named a Daktronics-NAIA Men’s Tennis Scholar-Athlete. Weber was one of seven NAIA men’s tennis athletes to earn the dual honors in 2008, and he is the fifth Cougar in program history to double as an NAIA All-American and Scholar-Athlete in the same season.
Bolsius, a 2007 NAIA All-American second team pick, earned first team recognition after posting a 16-6 mark while taking over the Cougars’ top singles position following the departure of 4-time NAIA All-American David Goodman. Bolsius also held down the top doubles spot in all but 3 matches this season, teaming up with 4 different partners for an 11-15 mark in doubles play.
Kur played singles exclusively at No. 2, registering a 15-2 mark that included a 5-0 record in Golden State Athletic Conference play. Kur’s only 2 singles defeats came in Azusa Pacific’s non-conference dual matches against NCAA Division I foes Brigham Young and Hawaii. In doubles, Kur was 17-4 overall but won 13-of-14 when teamed with Weber.
Kur went undefeated in singles and doubles in 2008 NAIA postseason action, and he becomes just the fifth player in program history to earn 3 straight NAIA All-American first team awards.
Jan Friedrich also represented Azusa Pacific as a Daktronics-NAIA Men’s Tennis Scholar-Athlete, an award given to student-athletes who maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale and have achieved junior academic status. Friedrich was 7-3 in singles play and won all 3 doubles matches he played, and he appeared in 4 of the Cougars’ 5 NAIA postseason matches playing No. 6 singles.
Azusa Pacific’s 20-8 campaign marked the program’s sixth consecutive 20-win season, and the Cougars became the first NAIA men’s tennis program to appear in 6 straight national semifinals since 2000, when the NAIA introduced its current team tournament format.
