Surprise, Ariz.- Playing their second match in a row at the Surprise Tennis Center, second seed Arizona Christian overcame a windy afternoon to beat Saint Katherine in the GSAC Tournament.  The win advanced the Firestorm to semifinals on Wednesday.

Match Info

• Match score: Arizona Christian - 4, Saint Katherine - 1
• Records: Arizona Christian - 11-7, Saint Katherine - 2-9
• NAIA Rankings: Arizona Christian - not ranked, Saint Katherine - not ranked
• Location: Surprise Tennis Center, Surprise, AZ

Inside Box Score

• The Firestorm continued their doubles dominance
• Andre Millet and Martin Thomas captured the first win with a 6-1 result on court three
• Anthony Popyrin and Jonas Wand locked up the doubles team point by winning 6-2 at the ones
• Thomas gave ACU a 2-0 lead after not dropping a game on court six
• The Firebirds closed the gap to 2-1 with a win on court one
• After dropping his first set, Andres Vasquez put the Firestorm in position for the team victory by winning the next two sets
• Jose Dominguez won his first set and concluded the team win in tie break fashion
• The Firestorm return to the GSAC semifinals for the second time in the last three completed seasons

Thoughts from Coach Carlisle

"Our energy and focus seemed to be a little off today, but in the end we got the job done and I am proud of the guys for battling through.  We knew Saint Katherine was going to give us everything they had and they certainly took it to us at different times during the match.  Fortunately we were able to come up with enough quality points when we really needed them and pulled out the win.  Sometimes you must find ways to win when you are not at your best and we were able to do that today and I am really happy with that.  We know tomorrow will be a battle, but we are excited for the challenge! "

Match v Saint Katherine

Doubles competition

1. Popyrin, Anthony/Wand, Jonas (ACU) def. Melosch, Matthew/Schroder, Max (USK) 6-2

2. Dominguez, Jose/Vasquez, Andres (ACU) vs. Navarro, Diego/Sabando, Alessandro (USK) 2-3, unfinished

3. Thomas, Martin/Millet, Andre (ACU) def. Debons, Lucas/Thomzik, Wim (USK) 6-1

Singles competition

1. Melosch, Matthew (USK) def. Popyrin, Anthony (ACU) 6-2, 6-4

2. Wand, Jonas (ACU) vs. Navarro, Diego (USK) 6-0, 2-6, 3-0, unfinished

3. Millet, Andre (ACU) vs. Debons, Lucas (USK) 5-7, 6-0, unfinished

4. Dominguez, Jose (ACU) def. Sabando, Alessandro (USK) 6-2, 7-5

5. Vasquez, Andres (ACU) def. Schroder, Max (USK) 0-6, 6-3, 6-2

6. Thomas, Martin (ACU) def. Gomez, Sebastian (USK) 6-0, 6-0

Up Next

On Wednesday, the Firestorm will face Westmont in the GSAC semifinals at the Surprise Tennis Center.  First serve will come at 12:30 pm.