NEWBERG, Ore. -- The Bruins took down the Whitman Blues 4-3, handing them their first loss in conference play all season.

How It Happened
The doubles order saw a Bruins duo who have yet to play together this year, as Ikuho Ebisu and Luis Hernandez teamed up in the No. 3 spot. The No. 2 doubles match finished first, though, as Zach Moore and Jackson Whittaker won their match with ease 6-1. Lars Schmassmann and Keita Shoji dropped their match to Noah Baker and Alexander Stage, the No. 16 ranked doubles team in the nation 6-4. This set up an intense match to decide the doubles point, as Ebisu and Hernandez forced a tiebreak after being down 5-4. They prevailed against Cameron Yang and Lucas Huang, winning the match 7(7) - 6(1)

Singles play started off hot early for the Bruins, with five of the six first sets going to the Bruins. Zach Moore was the first to finish, winning his match 6-4, 6-4 against Yang, the No. 16 singles player in the nation. Ebisu came in next in the No. 3 spot, battling injury and losing 6-0, 6-4 to Huang. Whittaker got it done for the second time this year against Alejandro Raffo in the five spot, this time finishing his match in two sets 6-3, 6-3 to give the Bruins the 3-1 advantage. 

Shoji was the star of the show, though, winning the first set 6-4 before engaging in an intense battle in the second set. He maintained an advantage the majority of the match, going up 6-5 and one point away from victory. The last game went his way, winning 7-5 and giving the Bruins the necessary fourth point to secure the match. 

The final two matches of the day went to Whitman – both in three sets. Hernandez battled back in his first set, rallying to win it 6-4. Braeden Thomas didn't take that lightly, though, winning sets two and three 6-1, 6-1 to give the Blues their second singles victory of the day. The final match came down to a tiebreaker between Stage and Schmassmann. The first set went to Stage 7(8) - 6(6), but Schmassmann battled back with a 6-4 second-set win. The tiebreaker was a tight one early, but Stage eventually pulled away 9-6. Schmassmann battled back to make it 9-8, setting up an intense ending. The final point went to Stage as the Blues picked up their third singles match of the afternoon. 

Why It Matters
After all was said and done, the duo, who had never played together before, got the deciding point of the match. With a win today, the Bruins solidified their spot in the conference tournament as either the two or three seed, most likely facing Lewis and Clark in their semi-final matchup. 

What Happens Next
The Bruins take on Whitworth at home tomorrow, April 6th. The match is slated to begin at 11:00 am.