Sophomore Tomas Aranguiz (6-3) plays No. 6 singles and No. 2 doubles for the Cougars. Photo credit: Kimberly Smith
With 10 of 22 regular season matches in the books, the Azusa Pacific women’s tennis team currently holds an 8-2 record after losing two of its last four games against tough opponents.
The Cougars began their season with six straight wins, four of which were on the road. They suffered their first loss of the season against then-ranked No. 10 Fresno Pacific at Fresno on Monday, Feb. 17 with a 4-5 score. The Sunbirds now hold a 21-1 all-time record against the Cougars.
The order of singles players for the women: No. 1, Emily Harris (5-4); No. 2, Natalie Johnson (8-1); No. 3, Danae Ingwaldson (3-5); No. 4, Lindsey Yeom (5-3); No. 5, Stephanie Quan (5-0); No. 6, Bethany Duval (4-2).
The order of doubles teams for APU: No. 1, Harris/Ingwaldson (7-2); No. 2, Koetterheinrich/Yeom (4-3); No. 3, Quan/Johnson (5-1).
Nine days after the Cougars’ first loss, they scored an 8-1 home win against Westmont. The next day, they suffered a tough 2-7 loss against No. 2-ranked BYU-Hawaii as the first of four consecutive top-25 opponents in the upcoming week.
The women’s tennis team faced the Lewis (Ill.) Flyers on Monday, March 3 and emerged victorious with a 6-3 win to improve to an 8-2 record.
Their next opponent is No. 3 Barry on Wednesday, March 5.
The men’s tennis team is nine games into their season, currently holding an 8-1 record.
After winning six straight matches to start the season, the last three of those victories dominating 9-0 victories, the Cougars fell to then-ranked No. 13 Fresno Pacific Sunbirds 6-3 on Feb. 17. The last time the Cougars lost a regular-season match was also against the Sunbirds, April 12, 2012, with a 6-3 score.
The order of singles players for the men: No. 1, NCAA-ranked No. 7 sophomore Jan Meyer (8-0); No. 2, senior Freddy Wilkens (6-2); No. 3, freshman Alan Leahy (4-4); No. 4, junior Gary Yam (6-2); No. 5, freshman Pascal Engel (5-3); No. 6, sophomore Tomas Aranguiz (6-2).
The order of doubles players for the men: No. 1, Engel/Meyer (4-4); No. 2, Aranguiz/Wilkens (6-2); No. 3, Leahy/Yam (6-2).
After the Cougars’ first loss to the Sunbirds, No. 11-ranked APU had a 10-day break before facing No. 19-ranked BYU-Hawaii. The Cougars did not let the break faze them and powered through to a 6-3 victory.
On Monday, March 3, Azusa Pacific beat Lewis (Ill.) 7-2. The Cougars were spotted three points because the Flyers only had four players on their active roster.
The men’s next matchup is on Wednesday, March 5 against Barry.
*The results in this story are current as of Monday, March 3. Check theclause.org/sports for updates on Azusa Pacific athletics, including Tuesday’s results of the men’s and women’s tennis match against No. 6-ranked Lynn.