MOBILE, Ala. - Emotions were running high as the 2005 NAIA Men's Tennis National Championship Semifinals got underway from the Mobile Tennis Center this morning.

The Cougars of Azusa Pacific reached their consecutive national championship match, as they dethroned Auburn University Montgomery, 5-2, in one semifinal match.

Needing just two points to win the match following doubles, the Cougars saw three matches decided in a first-set tie-breaker.  The Senators drew the first point in singles when Daniel Plasa won at #2 over the Cougars Boris Bakalov 6-2, 6-3 to cut the overall lead to 3-1.  David Bidmeade of the Senators cut the deficit to 3-2 when he took his match at #4 over Adam Davidson by a score of 6-2, 6-3.

The Cougars turned to their top singles player, Sam Fletcher, who answered with a miraculous shot down the line on a volley to defeat the Senators' Anton Brykalin 7-5, 7-5 and give his team a 4-2 lead with three singles matches left.

Azusa Pacific clinched the match when Tom Jelsma put away the Senators' Willi Frei in the second set 6-3, after winning the first set 7-6 (7-4).

Azusa Pacific jumped out to an early 6-1 lead in #1 doubles with the team of Fletcher and Davidson, before the team of Plasa and Joel Kusnierz from AUM stormed back to cut it to 6-4.  Fletcher and Davidson pulled away at the end of the match to win 8-5, and give the Cougars a 1-0 lead.

Azusa Pacific then took the #3 doubles over the Senators, with Gordon Hong and David Goodman having an answer to every shot that the AUM team of David Budler and Fredrico Marty had to throw at them.  The Cougars took the third doubles match 8-4, to give them a commanding 2-0 lead in the semifinal match.

The Cougars then turned to the team of Bakalov and Jelsma to go for the sweep at #2 doubles, against Brykalin and Bidmeade of AUM.  The Cougars jumped out to an early 3-1 advantage, then stayed on serve and matched AUM point-for-point to win the match 8-6 and take a commanding 3-0 lead heading into singles play.