(SURPRISE, Ariz.) Second-seeded PLNU Men's Tennis set a new modern-era program record for wins in a single season, booking its second-straight trip to the PacWest semifinals with a 4-0 victory over seventh-seeded Fresno Pacific in Thursday afternoon's quarterfinal.
 
"They set the tone in doubles," Head Coach Curt Wheeler said. "In every match out here, it's an adjustment and sometimes it can take multiple days to feel like you're adjusted, so starting off well helps."
 
Nabeel Khan and Elias Weeks won the first doubles match to finish on the No. 3 court, 6-1, before Alexander Leischner and Fabian Penzkofer clinched the doubles point with their 6-2 victory at No. 1.
 
With their match tied at 1-1, the duo earned a break before Leischner's forehand winner with both opposing players at the net earned the pairing a second-consecutive break of serve.
 
A pair of Penzkofer aces in the final game then helped clinch the match and give Point Loma a 1-0 advantage entering singles play.
 
"That was great because then you only need three singles matches to complete the win," Wheeler said. "Our one, two and three courts stepped up and played some really good tennis to get those singles win."
 
PLNU's All-PacWest singles trio of Tyler Davis, Penzkofer and Leischner lived up to the recognition with straight-set victories.
 
Davis won the first set 6-2 on a forehand, crosscourt winner, before taking the second set by the same margin to win at No. 2 singles.
 
Penzkofer claimed a 6-2, 6-1 victory at No. 3 before PacWest Player of the Year Leischner sealed the deal with his 6-1, 6-4 win at No. 1.
 
Point Loma (17-2 overall) advances to Friday's PacWest semifinals, where the Sea Lions will play at 1 p.m. against third-seeded Azusa Pacific, against whom PLNU is 1-1 this season.
 
"Every team knows that this is the end of the year," Wheeler said of the intensity of the tournament. "There is no, 'Oh we have next week or the week after.' We have to play our best tennis and we have to play it right now.
 
"You combine that with the conditions that none of the teams play in, so it's an adjustment for everybody. It's who can play good tennis but who can mentally adjust and find that confidence and that focus to push through those things that are maybe not as comfortable because we're not out here very often."