FOREST GROVE, Ore. – A day after clinching the number four seed in the Northwest Conference postseason tournament, Lewis and Clark College men's tennis fell 9-0 to Pacific University in the Northwest Conference finale for both teams on Sunday afternoon.
THE BASICS
Pacific 9, Lewis & Clark 0
(Lewis & Clark 6-10, 4-3 NWC)
(Pacific 10-5, 6-1 NWC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Freshmen
Wade McDermott and
Kai Wills each grabbed a set in their singles matches but dropped the 10-point tiebreak in their respective third sets. McDermott won the first set in a traditional tiebreak against Nicholas Koulisis 7-6 (2) at No. 3 singles. He then lost the next two sets 6-3, 10-3. Wills also won the first set, taking on Aidan Rooney at No. 5 singles. He dropped the match 2-6, 6-2, 10-6.
Senior
Kristian Peev, junior Matt Stone, and sophomore
Matt Chio all won five games in their singles matches. Peev and Chio fell with identical 6-3, 6-2 scores. Peev at No. 1 singles to Mason Tran and Chio to Quentin Gonzalez at the two spot. Stone lost to Koby Murata at No. 4 singles 6-2, 6-3. Sophomore
Bennett Gazor played his first singles match since the beginning of March, falling 6-4, 6-4 at No. 6 singles to Benjamin Dubois.
The Pioneers lost the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles matches to start the day 8-2. Peev and McDermott played Tran and Gonzalez at number one, while Chio and Wills took on Murata and Rooney. Freshman
Landon Cronin teamed up with senior
Alberto Dos Santos in the No. 3 doubles match, where they fell by two games, 8-6, to Koulisis and Chang.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Five Pioneers enter the NWC tournament with a .500 or better NWC record in singles play. Chio, McDermott, and Peev are all 4-3.
- Stone is 3-2 in singles play, and Gazor is 1-1 after today's match.
- The Pioneers' three conference losses are all to the other tournament participants.
- Three doubles pairings having winning records in NWC play. Peev/McDermott are 5-2, Chio/Wills are 4-3, and Cronin/Dos Santos are 3-3.
WHO'S NEXT
Lewis & Clark plays in the NWC postseason tournament this weekend at George Fox.