College Tennis News - PLU Battles Before Dropping Matches to Whitman, L-C State

WALLA WALLA, Wash. - Pacific Lutheran dropped a pair of men's tennis matches played Saturday at Bratton Tennis Center. In the morning match, the Whitman College men's tennis team stretched its Northwest Conference regular season winning streak to 36 matches by knocking off arch-rival Pacific Lutheran, 8-1. In the afternoon match, PLU dropped a 9-0 non-conference decision to Lewis-Clark State.

Whitman 8, PLU 1

Whitman is 2-0 to start the NWC season and 4-1 overall while Pacific Lutheran dropped to 1-1 in conference action following the morning defeat.

Whitman got off to a good start in doubles, winning each of three competitive matches. Juniors Jake Cappel and Dan Wilson then racked up straight-set wins at No. 3 and No. 4 singles to give the host squad an insurmountable 5-0 lead.

The day's best matches came in three-set battles in the top two slots in singles. PLU's Joel Trudel rallied for a 2-6, 6-1, 1-0 (10-5) victory over Chris Bailey at No. 2, while Whitman's Etienne Moshevich bounced back for a 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-6) victory over Kevin Floyd at No. 1.

Quin Miller and Christoph Fuchs added to Whitman's win total with triumphs at No. 5 and No. 6 singles. Miller needed a 7-4 tie-breaker for a 7-6 victory in his first set before taking the second set from James Crosetto, 6-3. Fuchs and Miller also joined forces for an 8-5 decision over Michael Manser and Justin Peterson at No. 2 doubles.

At No. 1 doubles, Moshevich and Nadeem Kassam won the final four games for an 8-5 victory over Floyd and Trudel. Wilson and Justin Hayashi completed the doubles sweep with an 8-6 win over Chris Dew and Scott Shelton at No. 3.

Lewis-Clark State 9, PLU 0

In an afternoon match played at the Bratton Tennis Center, NAIA powerhouse Lewis-Clark State defeated the Lutes, 9-0. The Warriors improved their record to 2-3 while the Lutes are now 1-2 for the season.

Doubles:
1. Cedric Dufour-Jonatan Berhane, LCSC, def. Joel Trudel-Kevin Floyd, 8-4
2. Zhia Hwa Chong-Kevin Lee, LCSC, def. Michael Manser-Justin Peterson, 8-2
3. Sebastian Kuhn-Oliver Stone Sindayigaya, LCSC, def. Chris Dew-Scott Sheldon, 8-2

Singles:
1. Dufour, LCSC, def. Trudel, 7-6, 6-2
2. Berhane, LCSC, def. Manser, 6-4, 7-5
3. Lee, LCSC, def. Peterson, 6-1, 6-2
4. Sindayigaya, LCSC, def. James Crosetto, 6-2, 6-1
5. Chong, LCSC, def. Dew, 6-1, 6-0
6. Michael Sopel, LCSC, def. Sheldon, 6-3, 6-3

Pacific Lutheran plays NWC matches next Saturday at Linfield and George Fox.

(Courtesy of Whitman Sports Information Office)