AZUSA, Calif. -- In an epic battle between a pair of top-5 teams surprisingly turned into a 1-sided affair as the NAIA’s No. 4-ranked Azusa Pacific played some of its best tennis of the season in defeating No. 3-ranked Vanguard, 8-1.
The Cougars and Lions had battled in their first meeting in a close match that saw Vanguard win narrowly. This time around the Cougars got off to a great start in doubles and rode their wave of momentum to a big win.
Azusa Pacific was able to turn the outcome around mostly because of its stellar doubles play. In the first meeting, the Lions won 2 of the 3 doubles matches but the Cougars swept all 3 to get a sizable early advantage.
Bay Daniels and Katy Jelsma knocked off Tiffany Teerawat and Olivia Amstad, 8-4, to get the Cougars rolling. The No. 1 team of Jennifer Dao and Kim Tran outlasted Hannah Jurcovicova and Amy Brown, 8-5, to put Azusa Pacific in control.
With the win, the Cougars improve to 18-4 overall and 15-3 in GSAC competition. They finish the regular season tied for second in the conference.
Singles
1 – Jennifer Dao (APU) d. Hannah Jurcovicova (VU), 6-2, 6-3
2 – Amy Brown (VU) d. Peggy Bell (APU), 6-0, 6-3
3 – Kim Tran (APU) d. Dimik Donkervoort (VU), 6-3, 6-0
4 – Bay Daniels (APU) d. Tiffany Teerawat (VU), 6-0, 6-2
5 – Raquel Gottfried (APU) d. Olivia Amstad (VU), 6-2, 6-3
6 – Katy Jelsma (APU) d. Natalie Kelly (VU), 6-3, 6-2
Doubles
1 – Dao/Tran (APU) d. Jurcovicova/Brown (VU), 8-5
2 – Daniels/Jelsma (APU) d. Terrawat/Amstad (VU), 8-4
3 – Bell/Gottfried (APU) d. Donkervoort/Kelly (VU), 8-6
