Vanguard 0
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- In its final tune-up before beginning its NAIA championship quest in 10 days, the NAIA’s No. 1-ranked Azusa Pacific put the finishing touches on its region by downing No. 3 Vanguard, 5-0, to win its fifth straight NAIA Region II championship at Westmont in Santa Barbara.
With the win, Azusa Pacific moves to 28-1 overall with its fifth straight win. The Cougars will also likely be the top seed at the 2004 NAIA National Tournament, which gets underway May 17 in Mobile, Ala., as they look to avenge last year’s runner-up finish.
In picking up their 17th win this season over a ranked team, the Cougars swept through the 3 doubles matches. After that, the Cougars just needed victories from Sam Fletcher at No. 1 and Tom Jelsma at No. 6 to clinch the win.
Azusa Pacific will make its eighth straight NAIA Tournament appearance in 2 weeks, and should the Cougars get the top seed, it would be their second straight tournament as the No. 1 seed.
Singles
1 – Sam Fletcher (APU) d. Lars Dahlberg 6-2, 6-2
2 – Boris Bakalov (APU) vs. Dieter Weislmaier DNF
3 – David Goodman (APU) vs. Anders Hakansson DNF
4 – Adam Davidson (APU) d. Carl Holmgren DNF
5 – Gordon Hong (APU) d. Philip Mardh DNF
6 – Tom Jelsma (APU) d. Thomas Troxler 6-1, 6-2
Doubles
1 – Fletcher/Davidson d. Hakansson/Dahlberg 8-4
2 – Bakalov/Jelsma d. Weislmaier/Schramm 8-4
3 – Hong/Goodman d. Holmgren/Mardh 8-6
