SAN FRANCISCO – A Saturday showdown befitting Senior Day saw Academy of Art women's tennis and Fresno Pacific come down to the final point with the match tied at 3-3, but FPU's final singles victory swung the match in their favor to steal the season finale, 4-3. 

Facing off against the Sunbirds (11-5) for the second straight match, the Urban Knights (7-6) were looking for a bit of revenge after the previous meeting on March 31 that came down to the wire, and followed a nearly identical script to end the year. Beginning the day with doubles action, Fresno Pacific captured wins on each of the first two courts by scores of 6-1 and 6-4 to take the early point, 1-0. 

Moving into singles action where the wins seemingly alternated, an ART U retirement on the first court saw FPU take a 2-0 lead, but the Knights quickly got the point back after sophomore Paulina Alvarez made quick work of her opponent Elise Leik on court five in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2. Tying the match on court six was redshirt sophomore Aitana Comas Adam, competing in her first match of the season that ended in a 7-5, 6-3 ousting of Daimy Puala. 

The Sunbirds moved back in front after a win on court three, but Academy of Art once again drew level at 3-3 when junior Yun "Nicole" Shiau earned her own straight set win over Audrew Ouellet on court four, 6-3, 6-4. That brought all eyes to the final match to finish on singles court two where despite the best efforts from sophomore Maria Vittoria Casucci, she was not able to overcome Nayuma Subba, 7-5 7-5. 

All of the action followed a pre-match ceremony where ART U honored the careers of Aitana Comas Adam, Julia Ortega and Yun "Nicole" Shiau, three Urban Knights who have each been with Academy of Art since at least the 2020-21 campaign. They leave as a decorated class with a combined 57 singles wins and 20 doubles victories, while Shiau has earned All-PacWest honors in each of the last two seasons. 

With the regular season now finished, Academy of Art sets its sights on the postseason as the Urban Knights will travel to Arizona to participate in the Pacific West Conference Championship Tournament, which will begin on Wednesday with all of the details to soon be announced.