UPDATED BRACKET and CHAMPIONSHIP CENTER
SURPRISE, Ariz.—Azusa Pacific is heading back to the championship match for the fourth year in a row, where they will see a new opponent this year.
No. 5 Academy of Art pulled off the afternoon upset of No. 1 seeded Point Loma, 4-1. That sends the Urban Knights to the championship match for the first time since 2019. The Cougars, winners over Concordia 4-0, will return to the title bout for the fourth consecutive year.
Start time for Cougars vs. Urban Knights is 1 pm.
Here are today’s results, with tomorrow's schedule....
FRIDAY SEMIFINALS
#5 Academy of Art 4, #1 Point Loma 1
#2 Azusa Pacific 4, #3 Concordia 0
CONSOLATION
#6 Biola 4, #7 Hawaii Hilo 2
#4 Hawaii Pacific 4, #8 Dominican 3
SATURDAY FINALS, 1 PM
#2 Azusa Pacific (20-1) vs. Academy of Art (13-5)
THIRD PLACE, 1 PM
#3 Concordia (16-5) vs. #1 Point Loma (16-4)
FIFTH PLACE, 1 PM
#6 Biola (17-9) vs. #4 Hawaii Pacific (10-12)
SEVENTH PLACE
#7 Hawaii Hilo (10-9) vs. #8 Dominican (12-8)
SEMIFINALS
#2 AZUSA PACIFIC 4, #3 CONCORDIA 0
The Cougars return to the championships after taking out Concordia, 4-0. APU, now 20-1 and on a 19-match winning streak, won two of the three doubles sets to take a 1-0 lead, and then leaned on their back courts for the clinching points. Vini Bautista earned the first singles point for APU with a 6-2, 6-1 win, and Shannele Lopez won 6-1, 6-1 on court six. Miruna Tudor then clinched with her win on court four, 6-4, 6-1. The Cougars, who have not lost since February 10, are now heading back to the championship match for the fourth straight year.
#5 ACADEMY OF ART 4, #1 POINT LOMA 1
The Urban Knights played an unfinished match against Point Loma earlier this season, one that was unable to be finished because of weather. Today, finish they most certainly did. They knocked off the No. 1 seed Sea Lions, 4-1 to advance to the title match to face the Cougars. They began the quest by winning the doubles point with a clinching thriller on court six, with Viktoria Leth and Paulina Alvarez outlasting Sea Lions Anna Pallencade and Jazlyn Miyamura, 7-6, (7-2). Urban Knight Jessica Plazas made it 2-0 for ART U with a 6-4, 6-1 win on court two. Point Loma’s victory came on court three courtesy of Arianna Audelo over Maria Casucci, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3, but the Urban Knights followed with a win by Paulina Alvarez (6-4, 6-2) on court six and the clincher and celebration on court five with Leth edging Pallencade, 6-2, 0-6, 6-1. ART U will be seeking their first PacWest title on Saturday.
CONSOLATION
#6 BIOLA 4, #7 HAWAII HILO 2
The Eagles advanced to the Fifth Place game by winning on the top courts in a 4-2 win over Hawaii Hilo. After taking the doubles point, Biola won in straight sets on courts one (Colbeyshae Emery) and two (Lilly McNeill) to take a 3-0 lead. The Vulcans would battle back with a victory on court three (Hikari Osaki) and court six (Julia Barden) to make it 3-2, the Eagles closed it out on court five with Alex Mann winning a battle over Hana Hofmanova, 6-4, 7-5.
#5 HAWAII PACIFIC 4, #8 DOMINICAN 3
The longest match of the day belonged to the Sharks and Penguins. HPU, the defending PacWest champs, won the doubles point with 6-4 victories on courts two and three. Dominican evened the count on court six in singles with a win by Astrid Craig, and HPU followed with a triumph at No. 2 via Isabel Heupgen, 6-3, 6-1. Three minutes later, the Penguins made it 2-2 via Deepalakshmi Vanaraja win on court three (6-2, 6-4). In the back and forth team tally, the Sharks scored next on court four with Jayanne Palma, 7-6, 6-0, but again Dominican tied it, this time on court one with Audrey Rafols win over Abigail Wild, 6-4, 6-4. At two hours and 29 minutes, the Sharks finally clinched with Leonie Mueller topping Carolina Guerrero on court five, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5.