3/8/10 - Royals Cannot Stop Cougars

By Stephanie Coats

Azusa, CA- There were few chances of the Royals to make any decisive moves in their match-up against NAIA No. 5 Azusa Pacific, but that did not stop the Royals from playing their best. At the end of the day however, it was the Cougars who came out ahead 9-0.

It was a difficult day for the Royals and they spent much of it fending off a battery of strong offense from the Cougars. Only Freshman Jerry Laureano managed to earn a game win. He would do so in his singles match opposite Jochem Hoefnagels. Laureano struggled to tally up more game wins but walked away with only one to his name. He would lose the match 2-0 (6-1, 6-0).

Azusa Pacific 9, Hope International 0

Singles

1. Danny Colten (APU) def. Greg Cobian (HIU), 2-0 (6-0, 6-0)
2. Jochem Hoefnagels (APU) def. Jerry Laureano (HIU), 2-0 (6-1, 6-0)
3. Ilja Ikonnikov (APU) def. Christian Booher (HIU), 2-0 (6-0, 6-0)
4. Whitman Hough (APU) def. Justin Sutherlin (HIU), 2-0 (6-0, 6-0)
5. Jonathan Sosnowski (APU) def. Nathan Deghi (HIU), 2-0 (6-0, 6-0)
6. John Wilson (APU) def. Mike Lipert (HIU), 2-0 (6-0, 6-0)

Doubles

1. Hough/ Ikonnikov (APU) def. Booher/Cobian (HIU), 8-0
2. Colten/Hoefnagels (APU) def. Laureano/Sutherlin (HIU), 8-0
3. Sosnowski/Wilson (APU) def. Deghi/Lipert (HIU), 8-0

The loss drops the Royals to 0-9, 0-6 GSAC and improves the Cougars to 6-2, 4-1 GSAC. With over a week to wait before traveling to face Point Loma Nazarene, the Royals should be in good shape to compete against yet another nationally ranked team. Match play with the No. 12 Sea Lions begins at 3:30 pm on Tuesday, March 16.

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