Box ScoreSPOKANE, Wash. – Pacific rebounded from a 2-1 deficit in doubles Saturday, rolling in the singles matches to take a 6-3 road victory from Whitworth in Northwest Conference men's tennis action at the Scotford Tennis Center.
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After Pacific won the first doubles match of the day, the Pirates proceeded to beat the Boxers in two close affairs to take a 2-1 lead entering singles. The Boxers left little to chance in singles, though, winning the first three matches before seeing
Josh Bernstein (So., Novato, Calif.) clinched the match with a three-set victory.
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"It wasn't pretty, but we got it done," said Pacific head coach
Brian Jackson. "Whitworth came to play today, as they always do at home. They are a very solid doubles squad as we knew that we could have our work cut out for us."
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Playing without the services of
Brennan Faith (So., Redondo Beach, Calif.), the Boxers were forced to make changes in the doubles lineup.Â
Giancarlo Battaglia (Sr., Sherman Oaks, Calif.) and
Oscar Wight (Fr., Adelaide, Australia), playing together for just the second time this season, had the easy win in the No. 2 flight as they beat Matt Goebel and Blake Miller 8-3.
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Grayson Frazier (Sr., La Canada, Calif.) and
Reuben Mulhern (So., Boise, Idaho) also paired for just the second time this year and gave Drew Bingham and Shane Sandlin a run at No. 1 before falling 8-6. Bernstein and
Clark Wininger (So., San Francisco, Calif.) played together for the first time this season and narrowly missed the win in an 9-8 loss to Caleb Andrews and Drew Adams at No. 3.
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The Boxers fought back with a vengeance in the singles.  Wininger started the comeback at No. 3 with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Sandlin. Frazier gave the Boxers the lead for good with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Miller at No. 2 while Battaglia made it a 4-2 Pacific lead with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Brigham at No. 1. Bernstein was up one set on Adams in the No. 4 match, but had to play though a deciding frame before collecting the 6-1, 6-1, 6-3 victory to claim the team match for the Boxers.
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Hughes went three sets with Wight to claim Whitworth's lone singles victory at No. 6, 4-6, 6-0, 10-2, while Mulhern closed the day with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Goebel at No. 5.
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With the win, Pacific improved to 11-4, 7-1 NWC. Whitworth fell to 3-10, 3-6 NWC. Pacific will finish off their eastern Washington road trip on Sunday, facing Whitman in Walla Walla at 11 a.m.
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