Full Results

Top-seeded Fresno Pacific is headed to the NAIA National Championship match after sweeping its third team in as many days. On Friday, the victim was GSAC rival Azusa Pacific who fell to the Sunbirds for the third time this season, 5-0.

FPU moves on to compete for its second straight title tomorrow at 2 pm Central, 12 pm Pacific against Auburn-Montgomery, who defeated Embry-Riddle 5-2 earlier today.

"We played really good doubles and that set the tone for the match," said coach Neil Castro. "We had some tough matches with Azusa over the course of the season but today we played extremely well and getting that 3-0 start from the doubles put us in a commanding position. The final against AUM will be difficult, they are a talented team but I expect the girls to come out strong again."

The Sunbirds breezed past the #4 Cougars for the third time this season, sweeping doubles play before picking up two wins in singles to end it.

The team wasn't really challenged in doubles with Erika Januskova and Marie Boura winning 8-3 on court one and Yumiko Justin and Cristina Valladeres duplicating that result on court two. Sara Celma and Elizabeth McFeeters defeated APU's #3 team 8-1.

Though the singles matches on courts one, two, three and six were tightly-contested, none of them would finish as the Sunbirds clinched the match with wins on courts five and six.

Justin jumped out ahead on Kim Koetterheinrich at #4 and hung on for a 6-0, 7-5 win. Januskova delivered the other win FPU would need, defeating APU's Leah Hoffee 6-2, 6-1. The Cougars' season ended with a record of 21-5.

FPU now turns its full attention to Auburn-Montgomery, a team that has 10 national titles to its credit and defeated the Sunbirds four years in a row in the title match before FPU broke that string last year. It will be the 12th straight title match for AUM and the 6th straight for the Sunbirds.

Interestingly, AUM has been playing this tournament with just five players, meaning they have forfeited one singles point and one doubles point in each match. Those five players have yet to lose however, giving AUM a 5-2 victory in each match so far.

The Senators are 26-5 this season and have four opponents in common with FPU. AUM defeated Point Loma Nazarene 5-2 in the quarterfinals, who FPU downed twice this season. The Senators and Sunbirds also both defeated West Florida, but lost to ranked D2 teams Armstrong Atlantic and Lynn.

AUM fared better than the Sunbirds against those two schools, falling 6-3 to Armstrong Atlantic and 5-3 to Lynn. FPU lost to Armstrong Atlantic 8-1 and to Lynn 7-2. All the numbers go out the window tomorrow however, as the Sunbirds and Senators face off in the title match for the 6th straight year.