Fill In the Blank: Boxers Post Fourth Straight Shutout
Box ScoreSALEM, Ore. – Pacific continued to keep pace in the Northwest Conference point standings Sunday, posting their fourth straight shutout with a 9-0 blanking of Willamette in men's tennis action at the Willamette Tennis Courts.
With the victory, Pacific picked up another point and stands tied with George Fox and Lewis & Clark for second place in the standings with four points. The Boxers and Bruins will square off Tuesday, with the winner gaining the inside track to the No. 2 seed to the NWC Tournament.
"It was another solid victory. We were sluggish after the long week, but we had enough for a convincing win," said Pacific Head Coach
Brian Jackson.
The win allowed Pacific to improve to 12-3, 9-1 NWC. Willamette dropped to 2-12, 2-8 NWC.
In doubles, Pacific's No. 1 tandem of
Troy Zuroske (Sr., Richland, Wash.) and
Giancarlo Battaglia (Jr., Sherman Oaks, Calif.) faced a good challenge from Sam Wexman and Shrujan Kalidindi, but the duo improved to 5-4 on the season with the 8-5 victory.
Brennan Faith (Fr., Redondo Beach, Calif.) and
Grayson Frazier (Jr., La Canada, Calif.) improved to a season-best 10-3 on the year with an 8-2 win over Jack Schreiber and Gunnar Lee at No. 2.
Josh Bernstein (Fr., Novato, Calif.) and
Reuben Mulhern (Fr., Boise, Idaho) completed the sweep with an 8-5 victory over Will Cooper and Blake Brash at No. 3.
In singles, Zuroske survived a first set scare from Wexman, but went on to the 7-5, 6-2 victory at No. 1. Battaglia cruised by Cooper at No. 2, 6-1, 6-4 and Faith was a 6-1, 6-2 winner over Schreiber at No. 3. The victory was Faith's 10th singles victory of the season.
Bernstein added his ninth victory of the year with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Lee at No. 4.
Clark Wininger (Fr., San Francisco, Calif.) also won his 10th singles match with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Kalidindi at No. 5.
In the No. 6 match,
Alen Suklje (Jr., Beaverton, Ore.) survived a first set tiebreaker loss to blank Brash in the second set. In the ensuing super tiebreaker, Suklje found himself down 8-4 before scoring the final six points to take home the 6-7 (6-8), 6-0, 10-8 win.
Pacific will finish up the 2014 regular season this week, hosting George Fox on Tuesday before closing at Puget Sound on Friday. Both matches will begin at 4 p.m.
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