Junior Gary Yam won his 11th singles match of the season in his 6-0, 6-0 straight set victory on Wednesday, April 9. Photo credit: Steven Mercado
The No. 13-ranked Azusa Pacific men’s tennis team cruised past Biola with an 8-1 win Wednesday, April 9. In the second-to-last match of the regular season, the Cougars put some players at new spots but still fended well against the Eagles.
The Cougars started the match by sweeping doubles play. Sophomore Jan Meyer and junior Gary Yam improved their No. 1 doubles record to 6-0 with their 8-1 win over senior Isaiah Pekary and junior Tayven Townsend.
Freshmen Pascal Engel and Sasha Kingsley teamed up at No. 3 doubles to defeat senior Chris Evans and sophomore Rodric Pence. This was Kingsley’s first doubles match as a Cougar. Senior Freddy Wilkens and freshman Alan Leahy played their first match as partners this season and beat junior Brandon Chang and freshman Luke Mountain, 8-6.
Of APU’s five total singles wins, three were in straight sets. No. 7-ranked Wilkens made quick work of Pekary, beating him in straight sets after only 30 minutes. Wilkens continues to keep his winning streak going, now at 18.
Engel played at the No. 2 spot for the first time this season and defeated Mountain 6-2, 6-2. Leahy defeated Townsend at the No. 3 spot, 6-2, 6-1 and Yam and sophomore Joseph Remington tallied the final two wins for the Cougars at the fourth and fifth spots, respectively. Both of their wins were from straight sets. This was Remington’s first match at the No. 5 spot this season.
Kingsley finished last and played at the No. 6 spot. He fell 6-2, 6-4 to Chris Evans for his first loss of the season.
Azusa Pacific improves to 16-5 with Wednesday’s win. The Cougars will play their final match of the regular season Friday, April 11 against UC San Diego. The match is set to start at 3 p.m. at the Munson & Bavougian Tennis Complex.