Surprise, Ariz.- Playing in the GSAC Tournament final for the third time in the last four completed seasons saw second seed Arizona Christian come up short in their upset bid of top seed San Diego Christian on Thursday morning.

Match Info

• Match score: San Diego Christian - 4, Arizona Christian - 0
• Records: Arizona Christian - 12-8, San Diego Christian - 18-7
• NAIA Rankings: Arizona Christian - RV, San Diego Christian - 13
• Location: Surprise Tennis Center, Surprise, AZ

Inside Box Score

• After dropping doubles one, ACU's Jose Dominguez and Andres Vasquez responded by winning 6-2 on court two
• But SDCC wrapped up the doubles point with a 6-4 win on three to move ahead 1-0 in the team score
• The Hawks won on courts two and five to go up 3-0
• On court three, Andre Millet dropped the first set 6-2 and was down 5-2 facing triple match point
• Millet won the next two games to creep within 5-4
• SDCC unfortunately won the next game to clinch the match and GSAC Championship
• Between ACU and SDCC, the programs have won the last four GSAC championships- both winning in back-to-back fashion

Thoughts from Coach Carlisle

"We gave it everything we had, but it was not our day today. The doubles point has been so key for us all year and for the first time in the last 11 matches we were not able to win it and that definitely hurt us going into singles. The matches that were still playing at the end were all battles and we had chances to win them so if we had gotten the doubles point who knows what could have happened. Overall I've never been prouder of a team for what these guys accomplished this season.  From three wins a year ago to 12 this year and finishing second in the conference after finishing second to last.  This entire year has been nothing short of amazing and these guys are all champions in my book."

Match v San Diego Christian

Doubles competition

1. Papa, Chris/Nienhaus, Nick (SDCC) def. Popyrin, Anthony/Wand, Jonas (ACU) 6-0

2. Dominguez, Jose/Vasquez, Andres (ACU) def. Vandenoek, Robin/Grabia, Laurenz (SDCC) 6-2

3. Kaufmann, Julius/Herreros, Angel (SDCC) def. Thomas, Martin/Millet, Andre (ACU) 6-4

Singles competition

1. Papa, Chris (SDCC) vs. Popyrin, Anthony (ACU) 6-3, 2-6, 1-2, unfinished

2. Nienhaus, Nick (SDCC) def. Wand, Jonas (ACU) 6-2, 6-0

3. Kaufmann, Julius (SDCC) def. Millet, Andre (ACU) 6-2, 6-4

4. Vandenoek, Robin (SDCC) vs. Dominguez, Jose (ACU) 6-2, 3-4, unfinished

5. Herreros, Angel (SDCC) def. Vasquez, Andres (ACU) 6-2, 6-2

6. Grabia, Laurenz (SDCC) vs. Thomas, Martin (ACU) 1-6, 5-4, unfinished

Up Next

A season of great turnaround for the Firestorm comes to an end.