Boxer Men's Netters Heat Up In Florida, Drop Pioneers 7-2
Box Score
ORLANDO – Apparently it took just about 24 hours to get acclimated to the foreign elements down in Florida, namely blazing spring sunshine and high humidity.
After struggling under the sweltering conditions on Thursday, the Pacific men's tennis team looked well within their comfort zone Friday, knocking off Grinnell (Iowa) College 7-2 to even their road trip record to 1-1 and bump their overall mark to 9-3. Grinnell's impressive early-season record dropped to 14-3 with the defeat.
The Boxers took five out of six in singles and two of the three doubles matches on Friday against the Pioneers, one day after winning just one of nine matches in a loss to Colby College.
The Boxers closed strong across the board, giving up no more than two points in any of the five final sets won in singles.
Spencer Hing (Sr., Phoenix, Ariz.), in particular, showed remarkable resilience. On the verge of a fifth consecutive defeat after a lackluster second second set, Hing stormed back to defeat Eric Ritter 6-3, 1-6, 6-2.
Troy Zuroske (So., Richland, Wash.) had no trouble with Elliott Czarnecki in the No. 1 singles match with a 6-2, 6-1 win while his doubles partner,
Giancarlo Battaglia (Fr., Sherman Oaks, Calif.) closed with a love set in a 6-4, 6-0 win over Daniel Nellis. Fellow freshman
Brandon Schlack (Fr., Long Beach, Calif.) bounced back from his first loss of the season to a Division III opponent, rallying in the third set for a 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 6-2 win over Charlie Wilhelm.
Scott Kawamura (Sr., Aiea, Hawaii) bounced back from a third set tiebreak loss on Thursday to dispatch Michael Cole 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.
Eric Furuya (Sr., Portland, Ore.) fell to 0-2 on the trip with a straight set 6-4, 6-3 loss to Conor Cunningham.
In doubles, the Boxers won at No. 2 and 3, but Grinnell's top tandem of Czarnecki and Cole got the best of Zuroske and Battaglia 8-5. Zuroske and Battaglia were Pacific's only winning combination in Thursday's loss.
Schlack and Hing won an extended match in the second doubles flight, 9-7 over Ishan Bhadkamkar and Benjamin Charney 9-7.
Kolin Wong (Jr., Captain Cook, Hawaii) teamed with Kawamura to win another closely contested match at No. 3, taking care of Colin Johnson and Aaron Lapkin 8-5.
The Boxers toughest match, in all likelihood, comes Saturday, when they take on the University of Northwestern Ohio, recently elevated into the NAIA Top 25 for the first time in program history. The Racers will be playing the last match of their Sunshine State sojourn after elevating their season record to 14-3-1. The only blemishes on their record have come to Divison I programs Ohio State, Toledo and Wright State. Pacific has one more match scheduled for Monday morning, when they take on Lindenwood before flying back to the Pacific Northwest.
