Newberg, Ore. — The Bruins men's tennis team concluded their weekend with a 6-1 loss against the Whitworth Pirates in Spokane, Wash.
How It Happened
The Bruins traveled to Spokane looking for their tenth straight victory against the Pirates and were eager to bounce back from their loss against the Blues the day prior.
Similar to its women's squad, Whitworth's men's tennis team was positioned to be third in the conference according to preseason polls, giving the Bruins an additional challenge going into their Sunday morning match.
Doubles featured the shining duo of
Zach Moore and
Aiden Cruz for the No. 1 matchup, coming off a significant win over a top doubles team in the nation. The junior-freshman pairing crafted impressive serves and persistent returns, winning five games in their matchup against Ryan Ashley and Henry Preacher before ultimately falling 7-5.
Court No. 2 and Court No. 3 aimed to be the Bruins' hopes of a doubles victory.
Luis Hernandez and
Keita Shoji won three games during the time of play and didn't look to give up. Their adversaries, Matt Froslan and Matt Hossack, ended up getting the final say in a 6-3 loss for the Bruins. This score mimicked the story of
Bernardo Martinez and
Joseph Vece, who featured an array of forehand skill but were inevitably taken down 6-3 in the Pirates' sweep en route to the doubles point.
Moore performed with a chip on his shoulder following his doubles loss and constructed a string of dominant games, culminating in a 6-3, 6-1 two-set win over his No. 1 competitor for Whitworth.
On Court No. 3,
Luis Hernandez demonstrated perseverance after dropping his first set 6-0, battling to win four games and nearly splitting the matchup, but his efforts were not enough to hold off his opponent in a 6-4 second-set loss.
Keita Shoji gave it his all in the No. 2 singles matchup. He took home four games throughout both sets in a 6-2, 6-2 loss. Court No. 5 ended 6-1, 6-0 in favor of the Pirates, featuring
Bernardo Martinez.
Aiden Cruz managed to secure three games in the second set of his matchup after losing 6-0, 6-3. On Court No. 6,
Joseph Vece fell 6-1, 6-2 against Matt Hossack of the Pirates as they closed the day.
Fox now falls to 3-3 overall and 3-2 in the conference and will look to add another victory in its next matchup against Linfield, aiming to secure its 11th all-time win against the Wildcats.
What's Next
The Bruins will return to their home courts on Saturday, March 7, at 11:00 a.m. to take on the Linfield Wildcats.
