SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- Lewis & Clark College men's tennis split their Saturday matches in San Antonio, falling to #11 Trinity University 6-1 in the morning before bouncing back with a commanding 7-0 victory over Schreiner University in the afternoon.

THE BASICS

#11 Trinity 6, Lewis & Clark 1
Lewis & Clark 7, Schreiner 0
(Lewis & Clark 2-1)
(Trinity 1-0)
(Schreiner 0-2)

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Pioneers faced stiff competition against nationally-ranked Trinity in the morning match, with Wade McDermott securing the team's lone point at fifth singles. In the afternoon contest against Schreiner, Lewis & Clark dominated from start to finish, winning all nine matches played. 

LEWIS & CLARK vs. #11 TRINITY RECAP

Trinity established control early by sweeping all three doubles matches. The Tigers' 15th-ranked duo of Rocco Mendez and Kishan Kersten edged juniors Wade McDermott and Kai Wills in a tiebreaker at first doubles, 7-6(7). At second doubles, Jared Perry and Roshin Kamath defeated sophomores Noah Sutin and Joey Lyon 6-3, while Connor Whittington and Ryan Warren completed the sweep with a 6-2 victory over senior Matt Chio and junior Spencer Loucks.

The Tigers maintained their momentum in singles play, claiming five of six matches. At first singles, 39th-ranked Perry topped Sutin 6-4, 6-4, while 13th-ranked Warren defeated Lyon by the same score at the second position. Kamath earned Trinity's third singles point with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Chio at third singles, and Whittington followed with a 6-0, 6-0 victory against Wills at the fourth spot.

McDermott provided the highlight for the Pioneers at fifth singles, outlasting Conor Kaczmarczyk in a hard-fought match, 7-6(9), 2-6, 1-0 (10-6). Trinity closed out the match in sixth singles as Eric Liao defeated first-year Arnav Bishnoi 6-1, 6-1.

LEWIS & CLARK vs. SCHREINER RECAP

The Pioneers rebounded strongly in their afternoon match, starting with a dominant doubles' performance. The top duo of Wills and McDermott set the tone with a 6-4 victory over Ernestio Gonzalez and Andrew Reyes. Sutin and Lyon followed with a decisive 6-1 win against Cole Reed and Ryan Morales at second doubles, while Chio and Loucks completed the sweep with a 6-1 victory over Mason Thomas and Darren Nava.

In singles play, the Pioneers maintained their high level of performance. Chio led the way at first singles with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Nava, while Wills secured a 6-1, 7-5 win at second singles against Morales. McDermott dominated his third singles match, defeating Reed 6-0, 6-1.

Bishnoi continued his strong play with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Gonzalez at fourth singles. Senior Bennett Gazor matched that score line with his own 6-3, 6-3 win over Reyes at fifth singles, while Loucks rounded out the sweep with a 6-2, 6-4 triumph over Matthew Caldwell at sixth singles.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Chio, Wills, Gazor and Loucks all earned their first singles win of the dual season against Schreiner.
• McDermott moved to 3-0, while Bishnoi improved to 2-1 in singles play after their wins against Schreiner.
• The Pioneers swept a non-conference opponent in a countable game for the first time since defeating Cal Lutheran 9-0 on March 6, 2016.

WHO'S NEXT

Lewis & Clark concludes their Texas road trip on Sunday morning, traveling to Austin to face Concordia Texas at 8 a.m. PT.