The Pacific University men's tennis team dropped an 8-1 decision to host Whitman College on Sunday.
"It was a tough loss for us," said Pacific head coach
Brian Jackson. "I am really proud of the way we battled today but Whitman outplayed us on the big points. The score was not a reflection of how close the match was today."
The Blues (10-2, 4-0 NWC) – who are No. 24 nationally and seventh in the West Region - took two out of three doubles matches and won all six singles contests on the day.
The Boxers, who fall to 1-4 and 1-2 NWC, got its lone win from the No. 1 doubles tandem of
Oscar Wight (Adelaide, Australia) and
Clark Wininger (San Francisco, Calif.).
The duo posted an 8-6 win over the Blues' tandem of Jake Hoeger and Robert Carter, who were ranked No. 24 in the latest ITA national rankings. Plus, it is the second straight win for Wight and Wininger, who are 5-3 on the season.
In a tightly contested match, the Pacific No. 3 doubles team of
Reuben Mulhern (Boise, Idaho) and
Ford Nakagawa (Aiea, Hawaii) lost in a tiebreaker, dropping a 9-8 (7-5) decision.
Next, Pacific will host Whitworth on Saturday, Mar. 4 at 1 p.m. and Linfield on Sunday, Mar. 5 at 11 a.m.
"This has been a rough first few weeks of the season, but we feel that we have gotten a lot of good experience and we are starting to put it all together," said Jackson.
