FOREST GROVE, Ore. – Lewis & Clark College men's tennis comeback bid fell short on Sunday, as Pacific University won a trio of three-set singles matches to secure a 5-2 Northwest Conference victory over the Pioneers.
THE BASICS
Pacific 5, Lewis & Clark 2
(Lewis & Clark 9-4, 6-3 NWC)
(Pacific 5-3, 5-3 NWC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Pioneers struggled early, with Pacific sweeping all three doubles matches to claim the doubles point.
In the top doubles spot, juniors
Wade McDermott and
Kai Wills fell 6-2 to Dawson Hose and Jon Nguyen. The Boxers extended their lead at No. 3 doubles, as Alexander Kinoshita and Aidan Rooney defeated senior
Matt Chio and junior
Spencer Loucks 6-3. Pacific completed the sweep at second doubles, where Ryley Chang and Josh Dela Cruz edged sophomores
Joey Lyon and
Noah Sutin 7-5.
McDermott put the Pioneers on the board in singles play, earning a straight-set 6-3, 7-5 victory over Rooney at third singles.
Pacific regained control by winning back-to-back three-set matches. At first singles, Sutin and Dela Cruz split the first two sets 6-4 before Dela Cruz pulled away with a 6-1 win in the third. Chio battled back from a 6-2 first-set loss to win the second 7-5 but fell 6-3 in the third against Kinoshita in the second flight.
First-year
Arnav Bishnoi claimed the Pioneers' second point with a dominant 6-2, 6-2 win over Hose at No. 5. However, Pacific sealed the victory when Nguyen outlasted Wills 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 at fourth singles. Chang closed out the match with a 7-6 (5), 6-4 win over Loucks at No. 6 singles.
BY THE NUMBERS
- McDermott improved to 13-2 in singles play this season, including a 6-2 record in NWC matches.
- Bishnoi became the second Pioneer to reach double-digit singles wins this year, improving to 10-4 overall and 6-1 in NWC play.
- Lyon and Sutin suffered their first NWC doubles loss of the season, dropping to 7-1 in conference action.
WHO'S NEXT
Lewis & Clark returns home to host Linfield University on Saturday, March 29 at 11 a.m. in the L&C Tennis Dome.
