Zuroske/Battaglia Stay Undefeated In Doubles As Boxers Fall To Whitman
Box Score
FOREST GROVE – A doubles victory for Pacific's No. 1 team of
Troy Zuroske (Jr., Richland, Wash.) and
Giancarlo Battaglia (So., Sherman Oaks, Calif.) proved to be the only win against Northwest Conference powerhouse Whitman Friday as the Missionaries cruised to an 8-1 victory in men's tennis action at the Holce Tennis Courts.
The Boxers' tandem continued a seven-match winning streak in an exciting match against Matt Tesmond and Andy Riggs. Zuroske and Battaglia broke serve to take a 7-4 lead, only to watch the Missionaries' duo come back to win the next two games and break the Boxers on their next serve. The Boxers finally closed it our on their next serve, taking the 8-6 win.
The victory pulled out the only doubles point of the day for the Boxers. At No. 2, Colton Malesovas and Andrew La Cava were 8-1 winners over
Lorne Bulling (Fr., Corvallis, Ore.) and
Brian Kyaw (Fr., South San Francisco, Calif.). Whitman's Steven Roston and Sam Sadeghi took an 8-4 win from
Alen Suklje (So., Portland, Ore.) and Koling Wong (Sr., Captain Cook, Hawaii) in the No. 3 flight.
Zuroske gave Pacific their best chance for victory in the singles, winning his first set against Malesovas, but the Whitman ace came back to take the second set and a super tiebreaker to take the 4-6, 6-4, 10-6 win. La Cava scored a 6-3, 6-1 win over Battaglia at No. 2 while Sadeghi scored a 7-5, 6-2 win over
Brandon Schlack (So., Long Beach, Calif.) at No. 3.
Roston scored a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Suklje at No. 4. Riggs was a 6-2, 6-1 winner over Bulling at No. 5 and Will Huskey took a 6-0, 6-1 win from Kyaw.
“We had a tough battle with a very good team today,” said Pacific Director of Tennis
Brian Jackson. “They are just deeper than we are at this point, but I am happy with the way the top of our lineup battled. They certainly showed that they belonged on the court, and we will be looking for another shot at them.”
Pacific returns to the home courts on Sunday when they host Willamette. The match is scheduled to start at 1 p.m.
