By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SALEM, Ore. -- Willamette University men's tennis players Andrew Kabacy (Jr., Vancouver, WA/Skyview HS) and Gene Perle-Jones (Sr., Eugene, OR/North Eugene HS) put up strong battles in singles and combined for a competitive doubles match, but Lewis & Clark College own the overall match, 9-0, on Saturday, March 27 at the WU Tennis Courts. L&C upped its record to 4-3 on the season, 3-1 in the Northwest Conference. Willamette fell to 0-5 overall, 0-4 in the NWC.
Kabacy won the first set against L&C's Ramez Attia at #1 singles, 6-0, but Attia earned a 6-2 victory in the second set. Attia won the match by taking a super tie-breaker 10-6. At #2 singles, Kristina Peev of Lewis & Clark defeated Perle-Jones in two very close sets that went to tie-breakers, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-5).
In the #1 doubles match, Attia and Shane Lynette outscored Kabacy and Perle-Jones, 8-4. The Pioneers also won by an 8-4 score at #3 doubles, as Daniel Lane and Miles Stone downed Luke Hiserman (Sr., Monterey, CA/Pacific Grove HS) and Jordan Megiveron (So., Edmonds, WA/Edmonds-Woodway HS). At #2 doubles, the L&C team of Peev and Riley Vickers moved past Quentin Nigbur (So., Newberg, OR/Newberg HS) and Andrew Kropp (So., Bend, OR/Summit HS), 8-0.
Pioneers who won singles matches in addition to Attia and Peev were Vickers at #3, Lynette at #4, Lane at #5, and Stone at #6. Stone edge out Megiveron in the first set, 7-5, before claiming the second set, 6-1.
Willamette and L&C will meet again on Sunday, March 28. Match time in Vancouver, Washington, is set for 11:30 a.m. (PDT).