Azusa Pacific 1
SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- The NAIA’s No. 3-ranked Point Loma Nazarene defeated No. 19 Azusa Pacific, 5-1, in the semifinals of the NAIA Region II Playoffs in San Diego, Calif., to advance to tomorrow’s finals against Vanguard.
The Crusaders won 2-of-3 doubles, but had to stave off a match-point by the Cougars’ Christina Earnest and Hephizibah Segura at No. 1 doubles that would have given the Cougars a 2-1 lead heading into singles’ play.
Brianne Hahn and Mayu Sato defeated Holli Hargrave and Andrea Montoya at No. 2 doubles for the Cougars’ lone point of the match. At that point, the Crusaders needed to just finish off 3 singles’ matches to clinch the win, and they did that at Nos. 1, 2 and 4 to halt the match and get the win.
The Cougars, now 12-11, must wait to see if they will earn an at-large berth to the NAIA National Tournament May 12-16 in Peachtree City, Ga. The 24-team field will be announced May 7. For the latest information on the Region II Tournament, click here.
Doubles
1 – Anna Sieczka/Anita Sieczka d. Christina Earnest/Hepzibah Segura, 8-6
2 – Brianne Hahn/Mayu Sato d. Holli Hargrave/Andrea Montoya, 9-7
3 – Crystal Richter/Dianne Sonoff d. Marilyn Wise/Andrea Yorkey, 8-5
Singles
1 – Anna Sieczka d. Sato, 6-0, 6-2
2 – Hargrave d. Earnest, 6-3, 6-2
3 – Anita Sieczka vs. Segura, DNF
4 – Montoya d. Hahn, 6-2, 6-1
5 – Sonoff vs. Yorkey, DNF
6 – Richter vs. Wise, DNF
