Men’s tennis takes down Linfield, loses to Pacific Lutheran

By Jessica Rosenblatt /// Staff Writer

The Pioneer men’s tennis team lost to Pacific University 5-4 on Friday, March 14, but came back strong to beat the Linfield Wildcats at home on Saturday, March 15, 8-1.

During Friday’s game, Kevin Ross (’16) grabbed two of Lewis & Clark’s 5 points. Michael Brewer (’17) and Parker Nichols (’17) also grabbed points for Lewis & Clark.

“I’d say that our biggest struggle this year has been staying consistent with our play,” Ross said. “While we contend with the top teams in our conference, we also seem to drop our level of play against teams that we should easily handle.”

Led by Ross, the Pioneer men went on to sweep all of the points in the singles action on Saturday afternoon. Morgan Joyce (’15) came out victorious in his match against Linfield’s Kelsey Rosborough through three sets, winning 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-2). Ben Sands (’16), beat Linfield’s Lukas Kleinman while, Parker Nichols and Carter Gee-Taylor (’14) won their sets. The men only lost one time in doubles play, giving up their only point to the Wildcats. The win put them at a 4-6 record overall with all four of their victories coming in conference play.

“I love our team,” Ross said. “We added 5 new players from last year and the level of play and intensity at practice has taken a huge jump. We are definitely a closer unit, compared to last year, off the court as well.”

Ross adds that with a lot of “interesting characters” just being able to be with his team has been the best part of this season.

Ultimately the men’s tennis team wants to finish on top. “Beyond this season, my goal is to beat Whitman before I graduate,” Ross said. Whitman has won the past 6 NWC titles and has won over 100 consecutive matches.

With that in mind, the men’s tennis team is looking beyond just finishing strong this season, but finishing on top for years to come.