(Courtesy of Azusa Pacific Sports Information)

SURPRISE, Ariz. – The duo of Sara Celma and Kaitlyn Haithcock earned a victory at No. 1 doubles and Sheena Johnson grabbed a win in straight sets at No. 4 singles, but the Sonoma State women's tennis team suffered a 5-2 loss to No. 13 Azusa Pacific in the first round of the Pacific West Conference Championships on Thursday, dropping the Seawolves (16-7) into a loser-out match on Friday with No. 33 Fresno Pacific.  First serve is set for 9:00 am.

It was all chalk on day one at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Club, with all of the top four seeds advancing to the Pacific West Conference tournament semifinals on Thursday. No. 2 ranked BYU-Hawaii's win sets up a semifinal with No. 14 Academy of Art, while Hawai'i Pacific's victory leads to a showdown between a pair of NCAA II top-15 teams when it takes on No. 13 Azusa Pacific Friday morning.
 
The seven time PacWest champion, and the tournament's top seed, BYU-Hawaii (24-0) got past Dominican (9-7) with a 5-0 victory to advance to the semifinals for the second straight season. After sweeping doubles play, Jade Griffin and Sasha Ulbrichtova each claimed straight-set singles wins to clinch the match for the No. 2 ranked Seasiders, who remain perfect on the season. The nation's No. 4 doubles team of Min Liu and Nannan Zhang had an 8-2 win at No. 1 for BYU-Hawaii.
 
"They played us hard and we are looking forward to tomorrow. We had a tough match with Academy of Art in San Francisco, so we're hoping to play well. We're relatively healthy right now, so we're going to give it our best," said BYU-Hawaii head coach Dave Porter.
 
No. 4 seed Academy of Art (16-2) was one of three teams to post a sweep on Thursday, defeating No. 5 seed Point Loma (12-12) 5-0. The Urban Knights swept doubles thanks to a narrow 8-6 win by Lucia Zavercikova and Jenny Johansson at No. 2, before Michelle Dandik and Daniela Amelunge each tabbed straight set victories in singles, with Dandik winning the clincher 7-6 (7-3), 6-2.
 
"The girls showed up ready to play. They came out strong and took care of business. We have a tough match tomorrow but we're ready to go. It's exciting, we've played them already this year, and we're ready to play them again," said Academy of Art head coach Beth Daub.
 
No. 3 seed Azusa Pacific (18-5) had the most suspenseful match of the morning, needing a pair of three-set wins in singles to clinch the 5-2 victory over Sonoma State (15-6). After taking two of three in doubles thanks to a 9-8 (7-5) win at No. 2 by Lindsey Yeom and Danae Ingwaldson, the Seawolves evened the match at 2-2 with a quick 6-2, 6-0 win by Sheena Johnson at No. 4 singles. Three of the five remaining singles matches advanced to a deciding set, where Natalie Johnson and Ingwaldson each won the decider 6-2 for the Cougars. Kim Koetterheinrich got the clincher winning a second set tiebreak to complete a 6-4, 7-6 (8-6) win.
 
Hawai'i Pacific nabbed the day's first 5-0 win, sweeping Fresno Pacific (10-14) to advance to Thursday's semifinal. Karen Ramirez and Celina Goetti completed a doubles sweep for No. 2 seed Hawai`i Pacific (16-5) with a 9-7 win over the No. 18 ranked doubles team of Petra Jurova and Angelika Sobiecka. The Sea Warriors were the first team to advance to the past the first round, needing just over two hours to post their quarterfinal win.
 
Friday's semifinals will pit BYU-Hawaii against Academy of Art, while Hawai`i Pacific takes on Azusa Pacific. In the consolation bracket, Sonoma State will play Fresno Pacific and Point Loma will go up against Dominican for a shot at the fifth place match on Saturday.  Each of Friday's matches are scheduled to start at 9:00 am (PST).

For complete tournament coverage, including scores, live results, and schedules, please visit http://www.apu.edu/athletics/stories/21782/.

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#13 Azusa Pacific 5, #35 Sonoma State 2
Apr 17, 2014 at Surprise, AZ (Surprise Tennis & Racquet Club)

Singles competition
1. #22 Emily Harris (APU) vs. #8 Sara Celma (SSU) 4-6, 6-5 (7-2), unfinished
2. Natalie Johnson (APU) def. Leire Martinez (SSU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
3. Danae Ingwaldson (APU) def. Kaitlyn Haithcock (SSU) 6-0, 3-6, 6-2
4. Sheena Johnson (SSU) def. Lindsey Yeom (APU) 6-2, 6-0
5. Stephanie Quan (APU) vs. Karlee Budge (SSU) 6-1, 6-7 (4-7), 3-0, unfinished
6. Kim Koetterheinrich (APU) def. Lauren Ha (SSU) 6-4, 7-6 (8-6)

Doubles competition
1. Sara Celma/Kaitlyn Haithcock (SSU) def. Emily Harris/Natalie Johnson (APU) 8-4
2. Danae Ingwaldson/Lindsey Yeom (APU) def. Leire Martinez/Lauren Ha (SSU) 9-8 (7-5)
3. Kim Koetterheinrich/Stephanie Quan (APU) def. Sheena Johnson/Karlee Budge (SSU) 8-5

Match Notes
Sonoma State 16-7; National ranking #35; Regional ranking #9
Azusa Pacific 18-5; National ranking #13; Regional ranking #3

Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (4,3,2,6)
Pacific West Conference Championship Tournament
Azusa Pacific No. 3 Seed
Sonoma State No. 6 Seed
Azusa Pacific advances to PacWest Semifinals
T-4:17 A-98