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MOBILE, Ala. - Top-seeded Fresno Pacific will have a chance to defend its national title. The Sunbirds (25-1) defeated conference rival #4 Azusa Pacific (21-3) for the third time this season to advance to the title match tomorrow, where they'll face #3 Oklahoma Christian at 1 pm local time (11 am Pacific).

Much like the previous two meetings between the teams, the Sunbirds were only mildly challenged by the Cougars, who dropped their 12th straight meeting with FPU dating back to 2007.

The Sunbirds took a 2-1 lead after doubles play, with APU's one win coming in a nailbiter on court three. The #2 doubles team of Kirill Sinitsyn and Nathan Martinet took control of their match early for an 8-2 win, while the #1 doubles match was one of the best of the day. Xavier Smith and Cledson Carvalho held off APU's top tandem of Janosch Apelt and Jochem Hoefnagels for the 9-8 win.

FPU showcased both their depth and their top-level talent early on during singles play as Smith defeated Apelt 6-4, 6-1 at #1 and Lloyd Bruce-Burgess breezed past Gary Yam 6-2, 6-1 at #6. That gave FPU the 4-1 lead bringing the team just one win away from clinching the match.

With the Sunbirds holding significant leads on two of the remaining four courts, APU picked up its final win of the day with an upset of Martinet on court four. Just moments after that, Carvalho clinched his match over Frederik Wilkens 6-3, 6-4 on court three to seal the 5-2 win.

"Going up 2-1 after doubles was big and we got off to good starts in singles," said head coach Neil Castro. "Playing Azusa is always tough. They competed hard and we have no problem getting up for them. We're looking forward to the match tomorrow."

Tomorrow's national championship opponent, Oklahoma Christian, fought back from a 3-0 deficit to defeat #2 Embry-Riddle today. The Eagles, who like the Sunbirds are making the jump to NCAA Division II next season, come in with a 19-3 record.

OCU's roster includes former Sunbird Jaime Sanchez-Canamares, who is playing at #3 singles for the Eagles. He played #6 singles for FPU last season, behind all of FPU's current top five. FPU defeated OCU in last year's semifinals.

Singles
1. #3 SMITH, Xavier (FPU) def. #4 APELT, Janosch (APU) 6-4, 6-1
2. #18 HOEFNAGELS, Jochem (APU) vs. #20 SINITSYN, Kirill (FPU 3-6, 4-3, unfinished
3. #24 CARVALHO, Cledson (FPU) def. #34 WILKENS, Frederik (APU) 6-3, 6-4
4. EGER, Benedikt (APU) def. #48 MARTINET, Nathan (FPU) 6-3, 7-5
5. IKONNIKOV, Ilja (APU) vs. SANCHEZ, Amarit (FPU) 7-6 (7-4), 4-4, unfinished
6. BRUCE-BURGESS, Lloyd (FPU) def. YAM, Gary (APU) 6-2, 6-1

Doubles
1. #3 SMITH, Xavier/CARVALHO, Cledson (FPU) def. #5 APELT, Janosch/HOEFNAGELS, Jochem (APU) 9-8 (7-2)
2. #13 SINITSYN, Kirill/MARTINET, Nathan (FPU) def. WILKENS, Frederik/YAM, Gary (APU) 8-2
3. EGER, Benedikt/IKONNIKOV, Ilja (APU) def. SANCHEZ, Amarit/BRUCE-BURGESS, Lloyd (FPU) 9-7

Match Notes:
Fresno Pacific 25-1; National ranking #1
Azusa Pacific 21-3; National ranking #4
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (1,6,4,3)
NAIA Semifinals
Fresno Pacific advances to the NAIA Championship match