Written by Bryan Juinio

FRESNO, CA – The 2nd ranked Sunbirds defeated 4th-ranked Azusa Pacific 9-0 on Thursday at Haak Tennis Center.

Friday afternoon's win marked Fresno Pacific's 51st straight GSAC win.  The Sunbirds move to 18-1 (15-0 GSAC) on the year, while the Cougars fall to 12-7 (11-4 GSAC).

An injury-plagued roster left the Cougars with just five players to face the Sunbirds. 

With a 2-0 team score advantage, the Cougars battled close in some first set singles matches.  But the Sunbirds eventually pulled away with straight set victories in all five singles matches.

Katia Sabate's 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 1 singles over Natalie McNall improved her singles season record to 18-1.  She suffered her first loss of the year on Saturday against Point Loma's Kristin Strimple.

The Sunbirds take to the court again on Saturday, April 18th when they face 9th-ranked Vanguard (11-7, 9-6 GSAC) at the Haak Tennis Center.  Preliminary match time is 12:00pm.

Box Score:

April 9, 2009

Haak Tennis Center

Fresno, CA

No. 2 Fresno Pacific def. No. 4 Azusa Pacific 9-0

Singles:

Katia Sabate (FPU) def. Natalie McNall 6-0, 6-1

Ornella Gentile (FPU) def. Emily Ignas (APU) 6-4, 6-1

Maria Klokotzky (FPU) def. Leah Hoffee 6-3, 6-3

Vanessa Heroux (FPU) def. Jessalyn Lau 6-4, 6-1

Yulia Blinovskaya (FPU) def. Katy Jelsma 6-4, ret. inj.

FPU won by default

*Denotes clinching match – Order of finish: 5, 1, 2*, 4, 3

Doubles:

Vanessa Heroux/Katia Sabate (FPU) def. Katy Jelsma/Natalie McNall 8-4

Ornella Gentile/Maria Klokotzky(FPU) def. Emily Ignas/Jessalyn Lau 8-2

FPU won by default

Order of finish: 2, 1

Records: Fresno Pacific (18-1, 15-0 GSAC)

               Azusa Pacific (12-7, 11-4 GSAC)