Southern Nazarene (Okla.) 1
MOBILE, Ala. -- Azusa Pacific’s magical run through the 2004 NAIA Women’s Tennis Tournament continued Thursday as the seventh-seeded Cougars secured a place in the national championship match with a 5-1 win over unseeded Southern Nazarene (Okla.) in the semifinals.
The Cougars, who have never advanced past the second round, earn their first trip in program history to the national championship match. Azusa Pacific will face No. 1-seed and 4-time national champion Auburn-Montgomery (Ala.), which has appeared in every national championship match since the NAIA began match-play in 2000. The Senators defeated GSAC-rival Vanguard, 5-0, in the other semifinal.
“I’m completely excited for these girls,” said Azusa Pacific head coach Mark Bohren. “They have really stepped up their play this week. I knew these girls had the potential to do this, because they’ve been close in several matches this year. All of their hard work is finally paying off, which makes this even sweeter.”
Azusa Pacific won 2-of-3 doubles’ matches winning at No. 2 and No. 3 by identical 8-0 scores. The Crimson Storm picked up their lone point at No. 1 doubles. Then, as has been the case all week, the Cougars’ bottom half of the line-up did its job to close out the match.
Christina Earnest picked up her first singles win of the tournament with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Sara Sills at No. 4. Lynn Quitoriano defeated Becky Ciccone (6-1, 6-0) at No. 5, and Lindsey West upended Jana Maker (6-1, 6-0) at No. 6. Both Quitoriano and West have sailed through the tournament at a combined 6-0 in singles’ play, and the duo has teamed to go 3-0 in doubles’ play.
With the win, the Cougars improve to 21-7 overall. Southern Nazarene ends its season at 13-12. The Crimson Storm were looking to pull off their third straight upset as they knocked off No. 6 Oklahoma Christian in the second round and No. 3 Flagler (Fla.) in the quarterfinals.
Singles
1 - Jennifer Dao (APU) vs. Larikah Russell (SNU), 2-6; 1-1 DNF
2 - Mayu Sato (APU) vs. Nikkita Fountain (SNUJ), 4-6;0-2 DNF
3 - Peggy Bell (APU) vs. Caroline Magambo (SNU), 6-0; 4-1 DNF
4 - Christina Earnest (APU) def. Sara Sills (SNU), 6-0; 6-0
5 - Lynn Quitoriano (APU) def. Becky Ciccone (SNU), 6-1; 6-0
6 - Lindsey West (APU) def. Jana Maker (SNU), 6-1; 6-0
Doubles
1 - Russell/Fountain (SNU) def. Bell/Earnest (APU), 8-4
2 - Sato/Dao (APU) def. Maker/Magambo (SNU), 8-0
3 - Quitoriano/West (APU) def. Emily Kraft/Ciccone (SNU), 8-0
