By Beth Renkoski
02/26/09
Fifth-Ranked Cougars Clip Lions
Azusa, Calif – For the second match in a row the Vanguard Lions came up one victory short. Taking on the fifth-ranked Azusa Pacific Cougars, the sixth-ranked Lions lost 5-4 in a GSAC men’s tennis match.
Vanguard and Azusa Pacific split decisions in the second and third doubles matches, with the No. 1 doubles match giving the Cougars a 2-1 lead. VU’s Thomas Frank and Nils Iwdal earned an 8-5 victory at No. 3, but Tino Brodar and Fredric Sandberg lost a tough 9-7 battle in the top doubles duel.
The imbalance in the doubles action turned out to be the deciding factor as the teams split the six singles matches down the middle. Florian Lemke (6-2, 7-6), Brodar (7-5, 6-3), and Sandberg (6-2, 6-4) won the 1-3 singles matches for the Lions, but Vanguard lost the 4-6 singles contests with the deciding point coming with a 3-6, 6-1. 6-1 decision in the sixth match.
Vanguard falls to 4-2 overall and 3-2 in GSAC with the loss, but returns to action with the continuation of a non-conference match with Redlands. The match was originally rained out on February 7th and rescheduled for February 13th. The match was halted because of rain with a 2-1 score and will be resumed at Redlands tomorrow from that point.
Today’s GSAC Match Scores:
No. 6 Vanguard vs. No. 5 Azusa Pacific
Doubles
1. Sandberg/Brodar vs. Weber/Bolsius APU 9-7
2. Frank/Bucher vs. Apelt/Zapala APU 8-4
3. Lemke/Iwdal vs. Moore/Chow VU 8-5
Singles
1. Florian Lemke vs. Matthijs Bolsius VU 6-2, 7-6
2. Tino Brodar vs. Mathias Weber VU 7-5, 6-3
3. Fredric Sandberg vs. Ronald Chow VU 6-2, 6-4
4. Sandro Bucher vs. Janoshch Apelt APU 6-1, 6-0
5. Thomas Frank vs. Daniel Moore APU 6-4, 6-3
6. Nils Iwdal vs. Jack Zapala APU 3-6, 6-1, 6-1
Final score: VU 4 APU 5
Season record 4-2, (3-2)