Santa Barbara, CA- Playing a top 10 NAIA opponent for the second match in a row resulted in the same outcome- a win for Arizona Christian.  On Saturday, ACU beat #8 Westmont 6-3 in a marathon match that took nearly six hours to complete which marked the first time the Firestorm had ever beaten the Warriors.

After a 1-2 hour delay in starting due to wet courts, the teams opened with singles action.  All six matches saw at least one extra game played and three of them required a third set to be decide the winner.  The bottom of the singles bracket ultimately belonged to the Firestorm (6-4, 2-0 GSAC).  The Warriors (1-2, 0-1 GSAC) won on the top three courts.

Court two was the first in the books as Philipp Sibbel beat Senior Ezequiel Suarez 7-5 and 6-1. 

Sophomore Scott Wheeler rallied from down 6-5 to pull out the first set 7-6 win on court four.  Wheeler notched a 6-3 second set win to grab the first team point of the match for ACU.

Down 3-2 to begin his match on court six, Junior Santiago Galeffi won the next four games for the 6-3 win.  Westmont's Luke Barnard won set two 6-4.  But Galeffi rolled through a 6-2 third set win for the 2-1 Firestorm lead.

After seeing limited action the first two matches of the trip due to illness, Senior Seth Moore cruised 6-1 through the first set on the fifth court.  Set two found Moore behind 3-2 before he rallied for the 7-5 victory.

The Warriors won on courts one and three to force a 3-3 tie headed into doubles.

However, the Firestorm proved once again that doubles is their specialty as they ran the doubles table to win the team match. 

Sophomore Alberto Lapiedra and Moore had no issue as they won 8-3 on the first court.  Junior Marcelo Balderrama and Wheeler controlled the third doubles court with an 8-4 result.

Court two was by far the closest match in doubles.  Sophomore Enzo Douillac paired with Suarez to play Luke Whalen and Christian Mathis to an 8-8 score before the ACU tandem won the tie break for the 9-8 win.

Head Coach Chris Tolson commented, "The guys came out ready to go in singles.  We were in every match 1-6 today. I am proud of the effort level and intensity we showed in singles.  We had some opportunities to put Westmont away in singles but they are a great team and continued fighting.  Tied at three heading into doubles our guys were so confident and it showed on court just how great our doubles are winning each court."

Focusing on the mental makeup of his team, Coach Tolson added, "To win this match is incredible, it was such a loud and crazy environment with Westmont fans.  These guys continue to impress me every day with their attitude and effort."

On Sunday, the Firestorm will attempt make up their rained out match from Friday at Whittier.  The men are set for an 11:00 am first serve.  Westmont will hit the courts again for a countable match next Saturday at San Diego Christian.