News Release Date:
Saturday, April 18
WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- The Whitman College men's tennis team polished off its second straight title, and ran its Northwest Conference record to a sparkling 68-3 over the past four years, with a 7-2 victory over Pacific Lutheran in Saturday afternoon's finale of the NWC championship tournament at the Yakima (Wash.) Tennis Club.
Whitman, which recently capped its third straight undefeated NWC regular season, stretched its overall record this spring to 24-4 and snagged an automatic berth in the NCAA Div. III national championships.
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| Nadeem Kassam |
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| Jake Cappel |
Saturday’s loss dropped Pacific Lutheran to 16-10 on the season.
Whitman jumped to a big early advantage by sweeping all three matches in doubles.
Soon after Jake Cappel made it 4-0 Whitman with a straight-set victory at No. 5 singles, Nadeem Kassam tallied the championship-clinching fifth point with a 6-3, 6-3 triumph at No. 4. Kassam fell behind 3-0 in first set before kicking his game into high gear.
The key to Whitman’s doubles sweep came in the No. 1 match, where senior Justin Hayashi and junior Dan Wilson rallied from early 3-0 and 4-1 deficits for an 8-6 victory over Joel Trudel and Justin Peterson. Hayashi and Wilson are 18-1 on the season as a doubles combo.
In the other doubles matches, junior Christoph Fuchs and sophomore Quin Miller won 8-4 at No. 2 while Kassam and sophomore Etienne Moshevich were 8-3 winners at No. 3.
After clinching the team victory, Whitman extended its lead to 7-0 when Wilson and sophomore Chris Bailey rallied for three-set victories at No. 3 and No. 2 singles, respectively. Bailey downed Michael Manser 10-3 in their third-set super-tiebreaker, while Wilson scrambled past Kevin Floyd 10-6 in their abbreviated third set.
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| Etienne Moshevich |
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| Justin Hayashi |
The last two matches to be decided broke in Pacific Lutheran's favor. Trudel got past Moshevich in two tough sets at No. 1 singles, and Peterson downed Whitman freshman Adriel Borshansky in three sets at No. 6.
Whitman defended its title despite losing its top two players from last year's championship run. Moshevich also missed a good portion of this season with a bad shoulder.
"We had a lot of guys show a lot of heart this season, and our depth made a huge difference all season," Whitman coach Jeff Northam said.
"We have a bunch of guys who didn't get to play today, but they they were guys who helped us win a lot of matches this season. They were there at every practice, making us a stronger team. This was truly a great team win for us."
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| Quin Miller |
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Christoph Fuchs |
Northam, who was named men's Coach of the Year for a second consecutive year, tipped his cap to Pacific Lutheran. "They showed a lot of character after getting swept in doubles," he said. "They played us tough, especially in singles. There were a lot of three-set battles. They are a very good team."
Hayashi, one of Whitman's team captains, said getting Moshevich back on the court gave his team a big lift. "He's one of our best players, and his enthusiasm gets everyone else pumped up," Hayashi said. "He's definitely one of our team leaders."
"A lot of guys contributed this weekend, and it's great to win another title," Hayashi added. "Now we're looking forward to nationals."
Moshevich, who played sparingly in recent weeks, tweaked his right shoulder again as he and Kassam rolled to their victory in doubles.
"It was fine in singles -- Joel (Trudel) just played a tough match," Moshevich said. "I'm happy my shoulder was strong enough for me to be a part of this championship. I couldn't play at all at last year's tournament. I was just the waterboy, and I didn't want that to happen again."
Match Scores: Whitman 7, Pacific Lutheran 2
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CONTACT: Dave Holden
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