Box ScoreWALLA WALLA, Wash. – For the second time this season, Pacific pulled ahead of Whitman in the doubles flights. And for the second time this season, Whitman found a way to get past the Boxers in singles as the Missionaries took a hard fought 6-3 win from the Boxers 6-3 in Northwest Conference men's tennis action at the Whitman Tennis Courts.
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The Boxers looked poised again at a possible upset with the two singles victories.Â
Josh Bernstein (So., Novato, Calif.) and
Reuben Mulhern (So., Boise, Idaho) opened things with an 8-1 victory over Petar Jivkov and Robert Carter at No. 3. Colton Malesovas and James Rivers evened the score at No. 1 with an 8-3 victory over
Giancarlo Battaglia (Sr., Sherman Oaks, Calif.) and
Oscar Wight (Fr., Adelaide, Australia).Â
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Grayson Frazier (Sr., La Canada, Calif.) and
Clark Wininger (So., San Francisco, Calif.) opened up the 2-1 lead with their win at No. 2, surviving a tiebreaker to down Jake Hoeger and Zach Newlin 9-8.
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The Missionaries swung momentum by winning the first two singles matches. Phillip Locklear opened it with a 6-4, 6-0 win over Bernstein at No. 4 and Rivers added a 6-1, 6-0 win over
Sage Katayama (Fr., Mililani, Hawaii) to make it a 3-2 Missionaries' lead. Frazier evened the team match at 3-3 as he posted a 7-5, 6-4 win over Jivkov at No. 2.
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The final three matches went to three sets, and all three went the way of the Missionaries. Chase Friedman rebounded from a set down to defeat Wininger at No. 3, 1-6, 6-2, 6-4. Hewlin closed out the match for Whitman by surviving a stiff challenge from Battaglia at No. 1, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3. Hoeger completed the match with a 3-6, 7-6 (7-1), 6-1 win over Mulhern at the N. 5 flight.
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"This one really stings," said Pacific head coach
Brian Jackson. "That was some of the best tennis we have played as a team, but years of history were a bit too much to overcome. There was a time when we looked poised to pull a 6-3 win, but Whitman played big at the right time. It was tough to close out, but we had great fight up and down the line."
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Pacific closes out the 2015 regular season next weekend, playing at Willamette on Saturday and at Lewis & Clark on Sunday.
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