PORTLAND, Ore. -- Lewis & Clark College men's tennis defeated Linfield University 4-3 in Northwest Conference play on Sunday at the L&C Tennis Dome to clinch the third seed in next weekend's NWC Tournament.
THE BASICS
Lewis & Clark 4, Linfield 3
Lewis & Clark (9-10, 9-5 NWC)
Linfield (5-16, 5-9 NWC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Lewis & Clark trailed 3-1 before winning the final three singles matches to close the regular season with a home victory. Senior
Wade McDermott and sophomore
Arnav Bishnoi each earned two wins to lead the team.
Linfield claimed the doubles point by winning two of three matches. Brooks Lerfald and Zac Nakajima defeated junior
Noah Sutin and senior
Kai Wills 6-4 at the top spot. Joey Henderson and Cameron Paulsen followed with a 7-6 (3) win over senior
Spencer Loucks and first-year
Kaden Sigurdsson at No. 2. Bishnoi and McDermott secured Lewis & Clark's lone doubles win, defeating Nick Owens and Alexander Rosenquist 7-5 at third doubles.
Bishnoi put Lewis & Clark on the board in singles with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Henderson at No. 4 to tie the match at 1-1. Paulsen gave Linfield a 2-1 lead with a 7-6 (4), 6-2 win over Wills at No. 3. Lerfald extended the Wildcats' advantage to 3-1 with a 6-7 (3), 6-0, 6-3 win over Sutin at No. 2.
Sigurdsson started the comeback at the top spot, defeating Nakajima, who retired in the third set, 6-1, 5-7, 4-0, to make it 3-2. McDermott evened the match at 3-3 with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Rosenquist at No. 5. Junior
Bridger Galyardt clinched the victory at the sixth spot with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Gavin Orozco.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Bishnoi improved to 7-2 at fourth singles this season.
- Lewis & Clark clinched the third seed for the second straight year.
- Galyardt is 6-1 in NWC singles matches and 8-3 overall.
WHAT'S NEXT
Lewis & Clark travels to Walla Walla, Wash., to face No. 2 seed Whitworth University in the NWC Tournament semifinals on Friday.
