Men's and Women's Tennis Claim Third at PacWest Championships

Saturday, April 20

Waipahu, HI

3:30 p.m.

Grand Canyon

#2 Azusa Pacific

Greg Prudhomme

Men's and Women's Tennis Claim Third at PacWest Championships

4/21/2013 2:13:00 AM | Men's Tennis, Women's Tennis

The fifth-seed Grand Canyon University men’s team claimed third at the Pacific West Conference Championships after defeating second-seed Azusa Pacific 5-4 at the Central Oahu Regional Park in Waipahu, Hawai’i.

“I’m very proud of both the men’s and women’s third place finishes,” said head coach Greg Prudhomme. “The men’s team won against a team that we have never beaten and was favored in this match. My hat goes off to Ahmad Saleem for his comeback win that clinched it for us.”

The win will close out the books on the Antelopes’ run in D-II. The men will complete their final season with a 14-8 record and have gone 37-23 in the last three seasons, including an NCAA Quarterfinals appearance in 2012. The program has made great sides since finishing 4-15 in 2010.

GCU took a 2-1 lead after the doubles round, highlighted by Saleem and Arjun Bal’s 8-5 win over Joakim Hoefnagels and Ben Eger.

Saleem’s clincher at No. 2 singles saw him fall 6-2 in the opening set, only to rally to win 7-5 in the second and 6-1 in the third and final set. The win was his 10^th of the season and clinched a winning campaign.

Bal and Jacob Spizman were straight sets winners for the Antelopes.

GCU 5 APU 4

The women’s team also claimed third after their match with Fresno Pacific was suspended and then later ruled a tie after the complex experienced a failure to its lights.

“The women made history in that it was the first tie score I have ever experienced in my coaching career,” added Prudhomme. “We were down 3-0 after the doubles round and dropped the first point in the singles. We then won the next three singles matches and were and were even in the last two when the lights went off. All of us agreed to end it in a draw. Both our men and women battled tremendously today and it is great to see their efforts rewarded.”

The women will close out their regular season with a 12-5-1 record and will await the NCAA selection show which will take place on April 23 at 5 p.m. (Arizona time). The show can be viewed live at www.NCAA.com. The west region gets three bids into the NCAA’s, with the ‘Lopes currently sitting in the fourth spot. However, Fresno Pacific who is currently in third is ineligible due to its reclassification from NAIA to NCAA Division II.

After falling behind 3-love in the doubles round, the Antelopes mounted a tremendous rally to put them in contention for the win.

Justine Majan (No. 3 singles), Frederique Van de Velde (No. 5) and Jordan Bridges (No. 6) all won in straight sets to close the FPU lead to 4-3.

The two remaining matches will be left for the imagination, but GCU was in position to win both and take the match outright.

GCU’s Priscilla Annoual, ranked 16^th in the nation, was up 6-3, 4-3 in her match with 14^th-ranked Marie Boura. Lana Macukat dropped her first 7-6, in the No. 4 singles match, but had rallied to take a 4-3 lead in set two before the courts descended into darkness.

***On April 21 the PacWest Conference office ruled the match a no contest and that individual stats and the team result would not be included for official record-keeping purposes.

GCU – FPU Results