Doubles Lead Can't Hold As Tigers Claw Back To Beat Boxers
Box Score
LOS ANGELES – A 2-1 lead after the doubles matches was not enough to give Pacific their second win on their Southern California trip Thursday as the Boxers fell in a close 5-4 match to Occidental in men's tennis action at the McKinnon Family Tennis Center.
Pacific came through with the lead after a series of three closely contested doubles battles.
Troy Zuroske (Jr., Richland, Wash.) and
Giancarlo Battaglia (So., Sherman Oaks, Calif.) had the closest set of all as they beat Stephen Perkins and Kevin Siebs 9-7 in the No. 1 flight.
Alen Suklje (So., Beaverton, Ore.) and
Kolin Wong (Sr., Captain Cook, Hawaii) battled to an 8-5 victory over Jordan Brown and David Cotton.
Avery Howard and Kevin Zhao prevented a Pacific doubles sweep at No. 3, taking an 8-5 win from
Lorne Bulling (Fr., Corvallis, Ore.) and
Brian Kyaw (Fr., South San Francisco, Calif.).
Bulling gave the Boxers a 3-1 lead by posting a 6-0, 7-5 win over Zhao in the No. 5 flight, and Zuroske put Pacific on the cusp of the win with his 6-4, 6-2 decision over Brown at No. 2. From there, however, the day belonged to the Tigers. Siebs started the rally with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Suklje. Perkins handed Battaglia his first loss as the No. 1 player, 6-1, 6-3, and Howard tied the match when he bounced back from a set down to beat Kyaw 0-6, 6-2, 6-2 at No. 6. Cotton gave the Tigers the comeback win at No. 4, scoring a 7-5, 6-4 win over
Brandon Schlack (So., Long Beach, Calif.).
“This was one heck of a match, but similar to many of our matches this year, we just weren't able to pull it out,” said Pacific Director of Tennis
Brian Jackson. “Today's match showed that the preseason rankings, which had us and Oxy right next to each other, were right on. It was a very tight match. We learned a lot on this trip.
The loss dropped Pacific to 6-9 on the season, while Occidental improved to 5-7.
Pacific will now concentrate on Northwest Conference matches for the final two weeks of the regular season. Pacific returns to action next Saturday at Whitman.
