SURPRISE, Ariz. – Academy of Art and Fresno Pacific both took out higher-seeded opponents in the quarterfinals of the PacWest Championships to set up semifinal matches with Azusa Pacific and Hawai`i Pacific at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Club on Thursday afternoon.
 
Academy of Art won 4-2 against Biola, which keeps the Urban Knights’ pursuit of a postseason berth alive by taking out the No. 3 seed. Paulina Alvarez clinched the match 7-5, 6-3 at No. 6 singles, while Julia Ortega was in the middle of a tiebreaker at No. 4 singles.
 
Lilly McNeil saved two match points at No. 4 singles in the tiebreaker, and seconds after she saved the second one to even the tiebreaker score at 7-7, Alvarez won her fifth game in a row to clinch the match. With the win, Academy of Art improves to 13-12 all-time in the winners’ bracket, giving the third-most wins by a team in tournament history.
 
Fresno Pacific and Point Loma faced each other in a match that will likely end up determining which team qualifies for the NCAA West Regional, and the Sunbirds won 4-1 for their second win in a row. Leah Falentin, Alice Di Matteo and Sanne Brull all won their matches in straight sets to win the rubber match with the Sea Lions.
 
Point Loma’s lone point came at No. 4 singles where Amanda Letzring won 6-2, 6-4. Point Loma won the first set at No. 6 singles and was in a tiebreaker in the second set at No. 1 singles after Mariia Borodii won the first set for the Sunbirds.
 
Fresno Pacific advances to play against Hawai`i Pacific, which won 4-3 against Hawai`i Hilo. The Sharks’ top-3 players all won by the exact same score as Shaline Pipa, Elodie Busson and Marlene Tilgner each won their matches, 6-0, 6-1.
 
Azusa Pacific will be the next opponent for Academy of Art after the Cougars earned a 4-0 win over Cal State LA. PacWest Newcomer of the Year Eleonora Liga won her match in straight sets along with her first-team All-PacWest counterpart Madison Kane at No. 2 singles. Katherine Nguyen got the first singles victory for Azusa Pacific, winning 6-1, 6-0 in merely 43 minutes.
 
On Friday, Azusa Pacific and Academy of Art will battle for a spot in the tournament final, while Hawai`i Pacific plays against Fresno Pacific. The last time the Urban Knights and Cougars faced each other in the semifinals was in 2018, which Academy of Art won 5-2. In the consolation bracket, Biola will face Cal State LA and Point Loma will take on Hawai`i Hilo.

In the evening matches, Dominican and Concordia both finished their seasons with wins as the Penguins topped MSU Denver 5-2, while Concordia edged Colorado Mesa, 4-3.