PORTLAND, Ore.—Lewis & Clark men's tennis roared back from an early 3-1 deficit to defeat Whitworth University 5-4 on Saturday at the L&C Tennis Bubble.
With the win, Lewis & Clark improved to 5-2 in Northwest Conference play and all but locked up a spot in the four-team Northwest Conference Tournament.
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KEY MOMENTS
Matt Chio and Alberto Dos Santos each went 2-0 to lead the Pioneers to their second-straight conference win and their seventh win of the season (7-3).
The Pioneers second doubles double opened the match with an 8-4 victory. After going up 6-1, Chio and Dos Santos found themselves in a bit of trouble at 6-3, before they took two of the final three games to secure the win.
Whitworth responded back with an 8-5 win at first doubles and an 8-4 victory at third doubles.
The visitors grabbed a 3-1 lead when Ethan Warring defeated Logan Hausler 6-1, 6-0 at third singles.
It would be all Lewis & Clark from there.
Captain Kristian Peev started to take the momentum back when he knocked off Ethan Violette 6-0, 6-4 at first singles.
Dos Santos tied the match 3-3 with a 6-1, 6-4 victory at fourth singles.
Chio gave Lewis & Clark the lead for good with a 6-2, 6-3 win at second singles.
In the match-clinching match, Miles Stone had a back-and-forth contest with Nathan Tjelle at fifth singles. He weathered several momentum shifts in the second set to grab a 6-2, 6-3 victory.
Whitworth claimed the final point of the day. Cameron Brewer dropped the first set 6-2 to Bennett Gazor, before winning the second set 6-3 and taking the third-set super tiebreaker 10-0 (2-6, 6-3, 10-0).
DEEPER LOOK
- Stone also secured the match-deciding point in the Pioneers 5-4 conference win over the University of Puget Sound on March 5.
- With the win, Lewis & Clark is 5-2 in conference play. The Pioneers have one remaining match in the regular-season and are one of six teams in the NWC with three or fewer losses. The Pioneers have already defeated the two teams currently sitting in fifth and sixth and fifth-place Puget Sound (2-2) still has matches against first-place George Fox (6-0) and second-place Pacific (3-1).
- Chio improved to 2-0 at second singles and earned his team-leading 11th singles win of the year. He is also tied with Dos Santos for the team lead with seven doubles wins.
WHO'S NEXT
Lewis & Clark will close out NWC play on Sunday, when they host Whitman College at 11 a.m. Prior to the match, Lewis & Clark will honor senior Atticus Pallock on Senior Day.
