SURPRISE, ARIZ. – The OUAZ men's tennis team had a tough start to conference play, but found its footing on Friday as they defeated Westmont 4-3 to break a three-dual losing streak.

The Spirit jumped out to a good start as they grabbed the doubles point, coming out on top in a pair of tough matches. Austin Todd and Andres Reyes recorded a 6-2 win to give OUAZ the advantage, but the final two matchups came down to the wire. Dong Hyun Kim/Jordan Petrie and Mick Gardiner/Alan Vasquez each had to go an extra point, but pulled through on top 7-6.

Reyes put the Spirit up 2-0 with his 6-3, 6-1 defeat of Matthew Alleman, but Westmont quickly climbed back into the dual. Abraham Pauta and Sebastian Vethan won their respective matches for the Warriors, leaving the dual to a best-of-three.

OUAZ recovered and grabbed the next two singles points to clinch the dual win. Todd defeated Zachary Prince 6-3, 6-1, and Kim battled to win 6-0, 6-4 over Benjamin Saito as the Spirit captured the first Golden State Athletic Conference victory of 2020.

Conference win number two is up for grabs on Saturday when the Spirit welcome in Marymount California. All the action from the Surprise Tennis Facility is scheduled for 1PM AZ Time.