UPDATED BRACK and CHAMPIONSHIP PAGE
SURPRISE, Ariz.--The top three seeds in the PacWest tournament all advanced on the first day of the Pacific West Conference Men's Tennis Championships, while #5 seed Concordia clipped #4 Point Loma in the first upset of the event.
The Golden Eagles won 4-3 with a victory on court two, where Mario Aleksic topped Andrew Suver 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (7-2) with teammates from both teams urging them on. That pushes CUI into the semifinals, where they will face APU on Friday at 9 am.
Here are today results, with tomorrow's schedule....
THURSDAY QUARTERFINALS
#1 Azusa Pacific 4, #8 MSU Denver 1
#2 Hawai`i Pacific 4, #7 Hawai`i Hilo 2
#3 Biola 4, #6 Fresno Pacific 1
#5 Concordia 4, #4 Point Loma 3
FRIDAY SEMIFINALS, 9 AM
#1 Azusa Pacific (20-0) vs. #5 Concordia (13-9)
#2 Hawai`i Pacific (11-4) vs. #3 Biola (15-7)
CONSOLATION
#4 Point Loma (11-8) vs. #8 MSU Denver (9-12)
#6 Fresno Pacific (5-9) vs. #7 Hawai`i Hilo (6-8)
#1 AZUSA PACIFIC, 4, MSU DENVER 1
The defending champion Cougars moved to 20-0 on the season with a 4-1 win over the Roadrunners. APU won on the first two doubles courts to take a 1-0 lead and then moved to 2-0 with Cole Rassner’s 6-0, 6-0 victory on court four. Constantin Barth made it 3-0 a few moments later on court five, 6-2, 6-4, but MSU Denver stayed alive with a victory on court two, courtesy of Jean-Loup Auzias, 6-2, 6-2. The clincher for the Cougars came on court one when PacWest Player of the Year Emilio Elias Walter topped Alejandro Jimenz Gomez, 6-4, 6-4. APU now advances to the semifinals in search of its third consecutive conference title.
#2 HAWAII PACIFIC 4, #7 HAWAII HILO 2
The battle of island teams went to the Sharks, just a little over a week after HPU had edged the Vulcans 4-3 on the Big Island. HPU won two doubles matches by 6-3 counts to take a 1-0 lead, and added another on court six via Adam Vasir (6-0, 6-2). Jakub Beran made it 3-0 Sharks on court two (6-3, 6-3), but the Vulcans rallied back to make it very interesting. Lamar Bartley won on court three (6-4, 6-2) and Luca Matheowetz captured court five with a over Riku Ogasawara, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2. Leading by one, HPU clinched on court four behind Mile Matic’s victory over Filippo Di Perna, 1-6, 6-4, 6-3.
#3 BIOLA 4, #6 FRESNO PACIFIC 1
The Eagles cruised into the semifinals with a 4-1 win over the Sunbirds, advancing to the semifinals for the first time. Biola won two doubles matches by 6-3 scores and then won the three singles matches that they needed all within about ten minutes of each other. PacWest Newcomer of the Year Nico Ramirez won 6-4, 6-3 on court one, Patricio Larrera won on court five (6-4, 6-1), and Santino Serralonga won on court six (6-3, 6-1). Emilio Seelbach won for FPU to provide a point for the Sunbirds with a 6-3, 6-2 victory on court three.
#5 CONCORDIA 4, #4 POINT LOMA 3
In the wildest match of the day, the Golden Eagles won a war with the Sea Lions, with the clincher coming on court two. Mario Aleksic won with all eyes on he and Andrew Suver, surviving for a 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (7-2) thriller. Earlier, CUI won two doubles matches by 6-4 scores for a key team point, but PLNU’s Alexander Leischner got a point back with a 6-2, 6-2 singles win on court one. Maximillian Renz topped David Strassburger 6-3, 6-3 on court three for the Golden Eagles, and Lukas Schuster (7-6, 6-4) won on court six for PLNU to keep the match knotted. Spencer Cinco won for CUI on court four in three sets over Matt Melosch, 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 and Adam Kartzinel rallied back for a 6-7, 6-4, 6-4 victory over PL’s Nabeel Khan to set up the final on court two.