April 4, 2008

Azusa, CA- History was not destined to repeat itself Wednesday as the #4 Sunbirds rose to the occasion to beat the #2 Cougars. Maxime Adam clinched the 5-4 win with his victory at number five singles.

As soon as the introductions were done the intensity was established at a high level. Number one singles tandem of Matt Carroll and Vicente Joli handled business with an 8-1 win. At number three doubles, Fabio Silva and Adam came up short in an 8-5 defeat, which evened the score at 1-1.

Victor Medina and Marco Foelz, number two doubles, was on the verge of winning, but fell in the tie breaker. After doubles the Cougars were up 2-1.

Carroll carried his success over in his single's match with a 6-4, 6-3 win. Joli was outlasted in two sets, 3-6, 6-7 at number two singles. At number three singles, Silva continued to his undefeated march with a 6-3, 6-1 win to tie the match at 3-3. Foelz was able to boost the Sunbirds to a 4-3 lead with a 6-0, 7-5 win.

With the score 4-3 in favor of the Sunbirds, there were still two matches that needed to be completed. Adam at number five singles and Medina at number six were in a back and forth battle. After losing the first set 6-2, Adam bounced back to take the next two sets 6-2, 6-1 to nail down the first ever win against Azusa Pacific in the young history of the men's program. Medina loss in his respected match in three sets, 2-6, 6-2, 6-1.

Excitement was evident as the Sunbirds rushed the court to greet  Adam after his win. The Sunbirds chants filled the air as they felt the three year monkey lifted off their back.

The win improves the #4 Sunbirds to 15-0 overall and 6-0 in the GSAC. They will be back in action next Thursday, April 8th, when they play host to the Westmont Warriors. Doubles is scheduled to start at 2:00 pm.