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Derek James pumping his fist
1
Biola University BU-MT (9-14)
4
Winner Point Loma PLNU-MT (8-9)
Biola University BU-MT
(9-14)
1
Final
4
Point Loma PLNU-MT
(8-9)
Winner

Match Recap: Men's Tennis | | Brandon Taylor, Assistant Sports Information Director

James’ Win Salvages Day

Biola dropped its first consolation match at the PacWest Tennis Championships to Point Loma 4-1.

SURPRISE, Ariz. --- After a close start to their clash with the Point Loma Sea Lions at the PacWest Tennis Championships on Friday, the Biola Eagles dropped their first consolation match on the tournament by a score of 4-1.

The loss pushes the Eagles into the seventh-place match to be played on Saturday morning against Holy Names at 9 a.m. The Eagles had a dramatic 4-3 victory on the road at Holy Names earlier this March and won the seventh-place match last season.

The dual match started with tense back-and-forth doubles play that didn't determine the point until almost 45 minutes after the start. All three courts were on-serve through at least five games before Point Loma jumped to a 6-3 win at No. 1. The Eagles responded with a 6-4 win at No. 3 from David Garcia and Derek James. But the 3-3 score on court two went 6-4 in the Sea Lions'  favor to give PLNU the opening point.

The higher seed then went on to take the first set on five courts before winning the match with three straight-set wins. Logan Blair made a great run in the first set to push Yuki Okamoto to a tiebreaker after being down 6-5. Then Blair played his opponent all the way to an extra point in the breaker before Okamoto lucked out at 8-6.

The long first set forced Blair's match to go unfinished. And he was joined by Quentin Lau who walked off court on the verge of winning the second set with a 5-3 advantage. But the Eagles were able to avoid the shutout thanks to Derek James' third victory over Tim Soderman this season. James gutted out a 6-4 win in the first set and harnessed the momentum to win 6-3 in the second.

It's James' 13th win of the season, matching the total from his freshman year, and his 11th in straight-sets.  
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