Boxers Have Little Trouble Knocking Off Loggers In Opener
Box Score
TACOMA, Wash. – Resting three of the team's projected top-seven players was little problem for Pacific in their 2013 season opener Friday as the Boxers rolled to an 8-1 victory over Puget Sound in Northwest Conference men's tennis action at the Puget Sound Tennis Pavilion.
Head Coach
Brian Jackson said he was pleased with the opening effort, which began with a dominant doubles sweep. “It was a solid day for the men,” he said. “We had some dominant singles performances and our younger guys were able to get some great experience, which should pay dividends later in the season.”
The Boxers allowed the Loggers just six games in the three doubles matches. The No. 1 team of
Troy Zuroske (Jr., Richland, Wash.) and
Giancarlo Battaglia (So., Sherman Oaks, Calif.) opened their second season together with an 8-1 defeat of Michael Cutter and Daniel Deuel.
Alen Suklje (So., Portland, Ore.) and
David Yanagita (Fr., Minneapolis, Minn.) opened their career together with an 8-2 victory over Graham Baker and Jake Peterson at No. 2. The same held true for
Kolin Wong (Sr., Captain Cook, Hawaii) and
Lorne Bulling (Fr., Corvallis, Ore.) at No. 3 with an 8-3 win over Abe Noyes and John Stevens.
Pacific needed just the first two singles matches to clinch their first win of the season. Battaglia worked quickly in the No. 2 match, disaptching Deuel, 6-0, 6-0, and Yanagita closed it out with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Peterson at No. 4. Wong added a 6-0, 6-3 win over Noyes at No. 5 before Stevens earned the Loggers' only win of the day, a 6-3, 7-5 decision over newcomer
Ty Tanaka (Fr., Honolulu, Hawaii).
Zuroske and Suklje both went three sets, coming out victorious. Zuroske rebounded from a second set loss to beat Cutter in the No. 1 match, 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, while Suklje was a 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 winner over Baker.
Pacific improved to 1-0 on the seaon, 1-0 in NWC matches, while Puget Sound dropped to 0-1, 0-1 NWC. The Boxers will wrap up the weekend road trip at Pacific Lutheran on Saturday.
