PORTLAND, Ore. - Among an electric atmosphere indoors, the 38th-ranked Southwestern University men's tennis team fell to the Lewis & Clark Pioneers by the score of 6-3 on Sunday afternoon at the L&C Tennis Dome.
Lewis & Clark jumped all over the Pirates in the early going, taking wins at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles to claim teh advantage at 2-0. Southwestern battled back as the team of sophomores Jeremy Wilson and Dean Dulthummon pulled out a key 8-5 win at three doubles to take a little momentum into singles action.
"They blitzed us at 1 and 2 doubles, but for us to grind out a win at 3 gave us a boost going into singles," said Head Coach Billy Porter.
The Pioneers took the next two points with wins at No. 2 and No. 4 singles, but sophomore Alexis Dimanche gutted out a tough 6-4, 1-6, 6-1 victory at No. 1 singles to draw the Pirates closer.
"Alexis played a great third set after a poor second and adjusted well doing exactly what we asked him to do," said Porter of the sophomores performance.
Lewis & Clark would clinch the match at No. 6 singles, but points remained on the board as Dulthummon proved to be the bright spot for the Pirates on Sunday, earning a 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 win at No. 3 singles to claim another point for Southwestern. Dulthummon served for the match at 5-3 and was broken to make it 5-4, only to respond and win break his opponent back for the 6-4 clincher.
"Dean was huge today," said Porter. "For him to break after being broken when serving for the match was pure heart and effort."
Southwestern falls to 4-4 on the day and will continue their tour to Newberg, Ore. as they take on George Fox at 3:00 PM.
Men's Recap pic.twitter.com/RV7GokWqi5
— Southwestern Tennis (@SUPiratesTennis) March 12, 2018