Glendale, Ariz.- A strong start for ACU in doubles and Anthony Popyrin in singles gave the Firestorm a 2-0 edge to begin their match on Saturday.  But Westcliff won four straight singles to take the win.

Match Info

• Match score: Westcliff - 4, Arizona Christian - 2
• Records: Arizona Christian - 5-6, 1-1 GSAC, Westcliff - 2-6, 2-3 GSAC
• NAIA Rankings: Arizona Christian - not ranked, Westcliff - not ranked
• Location: Paseo Racquet Center, Glendale, AZ

Inside Box Score

• Popyrin and Jonas Wand earned a 6-4 win to start the match
• Andre Millet and Martin Thomas followed right behind with their own 6-4 win for the doubles team point
• Jose Dominguez and Andres Vasquez were also leading but their match went down as unfinished
• Popyrin continued to be dialed in as he easily started singles with a pair 6-1 wins
• The Warriors won on four, two, and six in straight sets to build a 3-2 advantage
• On court five, Vasquez won his first set 6-2 but WU closed out the match by winning 6-2 in sets two and three
• Millet won his first set 6-3 but fell 6-4 in the set before his match was listed as unfinished due to Westcliff already clinching

Thoughts from Coach Carlisle

"Tough day today.  We started well and jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but credit to Westcliff for fighting back and taking the match from us.  Conference play is a grind and we know that all the matches will be tight just like yesterday and today.  Our Achilles heel this spring has been our inability to close out games and that definitely showed up again today.  We cannot dwell on this one though, we will need to bounce back quickly and get ready for two tough conference matches next weekend."

Match v Westcliff

Doubles competition

1. POPYRIN, Anthony/WAND, Jonas (ACU) def. YANASE, Daisuke/TALAMANDIER, Antoine (WUCA) 6-4

2. DOMINGUEZ, Jose/VASQUEZ, Andres (ACU) vs. MUELLER, Max/VEYHLE, Felix (WUCA) 5-4, unfinished

3. MILLET, Andre/THOMAS, Martin (ACU) def. CAMPOLINA, Alexandre/SANTOS, Thallys (WUCA) 6-4

Singles competition

1. POPYRIN, Anthony (ACU) def. YANASE, Daisuke (WUCA) 6-1, 6-1

2. VEYHLE, Felix (WUCA) def. WAND, Jonas (ACU) 6-4, 6-2

3. MILLET, Andre (ACU) vs. SANTOS, Thallys (WUCA) 6-3, 4-6, unfinished

4. MUELLER, Max (WUCA) def. DOMINGUEZ, Jose (ACU) 6-2, 6-4

5. GOETZ, Fridolin (WUCA) def. VASQUEZ, Andres (ACU) 2-6, 6-2, 6-2

6. BOTLAN, Celien (WUCA) def. THOMAS, Martin (ACU) 6-3, 6-2

Up Next

Next week, Arizona Christian will head to California for the first time this season when they face Marymount California and Westmont.  The Mariners and the Firestorm will face off on the campus of MCU on Friday at 12:00 pm.