Fullerton, CA- Playing two matches in a day to make up a rainout, Arizona Christian swept Hope International 5-0 and then 6-3.  The first win was enough for their first ever GSAC Championship but for good measure the second win gave them a perfect 8-0 GSAC record on the season.

Beginning with a match at 8:00 am at Fullerton College, the teams played to decision (once a team reached five points then the rest of the match stopped).

Doubles action was first and the Firestorm (14-11, 8-0 GSAC) came out ready to play.  Court two saw Sophomore Scott Wheeler and Junior Luka Stanivukovic ease to an 8-2 win.  Court one was actually a match that went down the wire but Sophomore Alberto Lapiedra and Senior Seth Moore prevailed 9-8.  Juniors Marcelo Balderrama and Santiago Galeffi held on 8-6.

Needing to win just two points for the ACU victory, only two singles matches were started on courts five and six.  Moore and Sophomore Gregoire Vincent were up to the challenge as they prevailed 6-0, 6-1 and 6-0, 6-2 respectively to lock up the win and championship.

But before ACU could celebrate too much there was a second match needing to be played- at a different location and played out in full.  After moving up to the La Habra Tennis Center, singles was first on the schedule.

Stanivukovic cruised 6-0 and 6-1 on court six.  Balderrama was just a game behind as he rolled 6-1, 6-1.

The Royals (3-12, 0-8 GSAC) actually won the next two matches to create a 2-2 tie.

However, Arizona Christian closed out singles with two wins to build a 4-2 lead.  Galeffi won in straight sets- 6-2 and then needed an extra game but still won 7-6 on court five.  Sophomore Enzo Douillac won the first set 6-3 but dropped the second set 6-4 on court two.  But he answered with a 6-3 third set victory to secure the win.

Off to doubles for the second time on the day and Hope International won 8-5 on court one to keep their upset hopes alive. 

Those thoughts were short lived as Moore and Senior Zach Hackerott (both playing the final regular season match of their careers) produced an 8-5 win on court two to secure the team win.  Wheeler and Stanivukovic recorded an 8-4 win and the full championship celebration was on.

The GSAC championship is the first for ACU men's tennis following in the footsteps of their women counterparts who earned a championship the previous two seasons.

Head Coach Chris Tolson tweeted, "Two great feelings as a coach are seeing all the smiles while your players celebrate a championship and getting the water jug dumped on you!"

After a week off, the Firestorm will enter the upcoming GSAC Tennis Championships as the top seed which means they will not actually play until Wednesday (April 19) against a yet to be determined opponent.

Congratulations Arizona Christian Men's Tennis on your GSAC Championship!