Phoenix, AZ- Needing all of five and a half plus hours to determine the winner, Saturday's match between #10 Arizona Christian and #9 Westmont went down to the final singles match going all the way to the third set before the Firestorm pulled out the 5-4 win.  Junior Lauryn Sullins provided the match winning point.

Starting the day in doubles play, the first two matches were split with the winning pair controlling the match to the tune of 8-1 in Westmont's favor and 8-0 in Arizona Christian's favor.  Court two was an entirely different story as the sides went back and forth the entire way as they played to an 8-8 tie.  The ACU tandem of Sophomore Mikayla Morgan and Senior Iulia Marcenco pulled out the 9-8 win in the match to give the Firestorm a 2-1 lead headed to singles.

The Warriors (0-2, 0-1 GSAC) won two of the first three singles matches to tie the team score at 3-3.  For the Firestorm (3-0, 1-0 GSAC), Freshman Desiree Curiel provided the ACU point with a 6-3, 6-3 win on court five.

Freshman Tia Okano beat Isabel Lee on court three 6-4 and 6-3 for a brief 4-3 ACU edge.  But Haley Strandness answered by knocking off Marcenco 6-4 and 6-1 to setup the dramatic finish on court six.

Sullins grabbed the first set with a 6-4 win.  Westmont's Fernanda Rivera countered with a 7-5 win in the second set.  Finally, after a three and a half hour battle between the court six competitors, Sullins pulled away for a 6-3 game, set, and match win in the third set.

Head Coach Chris Tolson commented, "Our team showed so much heart and fire on the court today.  Westmont is a great team and they played some excellent tennis today.  This match came down to us having a fun, loud atmosphere that helped push our girls team to victory.  So proud of these girls and the start to this season.  It's not easy to do what we did last year (win a GSAC Championship) and the girls did feel a little pressure.  But they just continue to find ways to win!"

Odd fact of the day, the Firestorm actually earned two wins on the day.  ACU had a second match for the day scheduled with Benedictine-Mesa.  But the Redhawks did not have enough players eligible so they had to forfeit.  Of course, that is a break for the Firestorm after their marathon match with the Warriors.

Next up for the Firestorm will be a trip to San Diego Christian on Saturday. The match is scheduled to start at 1:00 pm (AT)/ 12:00 pm (PT) at the Lake Murray Tennis Club.  For the Warriors, they will travel to Hope International on Saturday for a 2:00 pm matchup at the La Habra Tennis Center.