Glendale, Ariz.- Playing their final home match of the season, Arizona Christian came ready to play against No. 13 San Diego Christian.  The Firestorm were the aggressors early but could not quite hold off the Hawks on Saturday.

Match Info

• Match score: San Diego Christian - 4, Arizona Christian - 1
• Records: Arizona Christian - 9-7, 5-2 GSAC, San Diego Christian - 14-6, 7-0 GSAC
• NAIA Rankings: Arizona Christian - not ranked, San Diego Christian - 13
• Location: Paseo Racquet Center, Glendale, AZ

Inside Box Score

• Anthony Popyrin and Jonas Wand cruised 6-1 to lock in the first doubles match of the afternoon
• The SDCC duo facing Popyrin/Wand are ranked 13 in the country
• Not to be outdone, Andre Millet and Martin Thomas earned the doubles team point with their 6-2 win
• But the Hawks had enough talent to outlast the Firestorm in singles
• SDCC won on two, three, five and six in straight sets
• Thomas was the closest to victory as he came up short 6-4 and 6-3 on court six
• With the match played to clinch, the final two singles were listed as unfinished
• Popyrin and SDCC's Chris Papa (ranked number two in the country) each won a set 6-3 before their match was stopped playing in the third

Thoughts from Coach Carlisle

"This was an awesome college tennis match. Our energy was off the charts at the beginning, and we were lights out in doubles.  Easily the best doubles we have played all year and we have been pretty strong in that area so that says a lot.  We started pretty well in singles, but we just ran out of gas trying to sustain that high level for such a long time.  San Diego Christian has a great team, they are No. 13 in the country for a reason, but I really believe we gave them everything they could handle today.  Could not be more proud of the guys for the way they played, one of the most fun matches I have been a part of."

Match v San Diego Christian

Doubles competition

1. POPYRIN, Anthony/WAND, Jonas (ACU) def. PAPA, Chris/HOCHENAUER. Luis (SDCC) 6-1

2. DOMINGUEZ, Jose/VASQUEZ, Andres (ACU) vs. NIENHAUS, Nick/KAUFMANN, Julius (SDCC) unfinished

3. MILLET, Andre/THOMAS, Martin (ACU) def. VAN DEN HOEK, Robin/GRABIA, Laurenz (SDCC) 6-2

Singles competition

1. POPYRIN, Anthony (ACU) vs. PAPA, Chris (SDCC) 6-3, 3-6, 2-4, unfinished

2. NIENHAUS, Nick (SDCC) def. WAND, Jonas (ACU) 6-4, 6-0

3. HOCHENAUER. Luis (SDCC) def. MILLET, Andre (ACU) 6-2, 6-1

4. DOMINGUEZ, Jose (ACU) vs. KAUFMANN, Julius (SDCC) 6-7 (4-7), 2-5, unfinished

5. VAN DEN HOEK, Robin (SDCC) def. VASQUEZ, Andres (ACU) 6-2, 6-2

6. HERREROS, Angel (SDCC) def. THOMAS, Martin (ACU) 6-4, 6-3

Up Next

The Firestorm will meet OUAZ at the Surprise Tennis Center on Tuesday for their regular season finale.  First serve is set for 3:00 pm.