Boxers Upended By Spirited Lewis & Clark Squad
Box Score
PORTLAND – Pacific could not get past a Lewis & Clark squad poised to play Friday, shocking the Boxers with a 6-3 win in Northwest Conference men's tennis action at the L&C Tennis Dome.
“It was a very tough loss for us today,” said Pacific Director of Tennis
Brian Jackson. “We ran into a young, talented Lewis & Clark team who played with a lot of spirit. We are learning a lot of hard lessons as a team this year, and this one certainly hurt.”
The Pioneers managed to gain early control in the doubles by beating the Boxers' top two teams. Kevin Ross and Daniel Hahm opened with an 8-4 victory over
Troy Zuroske (Jr., Richland, Wash.) and
Giancarlo Battaglia (So., Sherman Oaks, Calif.) at No. 1. Carter Taylor-Gee and Scott Monismith followed with a close 8-6 victory over
Kolin Wong (Sr., Captain Cook, Hawaii) and
Alen Suklje (So., Portland, Ore.) at No. 2.
Brandon Schlack (So., Long Beach, Calif.) and
David Yanagita (Fr., Minneapolis, Minn.) prevented the L&C sweep, scoring the 8-6 win at No. 3 over Lucas Fodor and Ryotaro Tokura.
Battaglia earned one of the Boxers' two victories in the singles, improving to 7-1 on the season with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Gee-Taylor in the No. 2 flight. Wong secured the other victory in the No. 6 match, improving to 3-3 on the season with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Cole Pfeiffer.
Zuroske suffered a 6-4, 6-0 loss to Ross at No 1, while Schlack fell 6-0, 7-5 to Hahm in the No. 3 match. Suklje won the first set against Monismith at No. 4, but watched his opponent take a second set tiebreaker and go on to the 1-6, 7-6 (3), 6-3 victory. Tokura finished off the match with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Yanagita at No. 5.
Pacific will have little time to think about the loss, returning to the courts on Saturday to host Whitworth at 11 a.m.
