NWC First Round: Willamette 5, Whitworth 3 - box score
SPOKANE, Wash. - The Whitworth men's tennis team finished the 2009 season on a positive note, defeating Puget Sound 7-2 in the match to decide 5th and 6th place at the Northwest Conference tournament on Friday at the Yakima Tennis Center. Earlier on Friday the Pirates fell to Willamette 5-3 in a tournament first round match. In the later match on Friday, Michael Shelton and Joe Wales rolled to an 8-0 win at #1 doubles, while Kellen Oetgen and Colin Barrett pulled out an 8-6 win at #3 doubles. Nick Kelley and Sam Finkleman clipped Colin Zalewski and Henry Williams 8-6 at #2 doubles. In singles play the Pirates took quick initiative. Shelton defeated Finkleman 6-2, 6-0 at #1 singles, while Zalewski quickly won 6-0, 6-1 at #3 singles. Nick Kelly topped Williams at #4 singles, but Oetgen clinched the match for the Pirates with a 6-4, 6-1 win at #5 singles. With the match already decided, Wales won his match at #2 singles in three sets, as did Barrett at #6 singles. The day's first match was delayed more than two hours by morning rains in the Yakima area. Willamette jumped to a 2-1 lead after doubles play. Oetgen and Barrett won 8-4 at #3 doubles, while Zalewski and Williams lost 8-2 at #2 doubles. The key match came at #1 where Cody Ferguson and Matthew Houser edged past Shelton and Wales 9-7. Williams and Oetgen kept the Pirates alive by winning at #4 and #5 singles, respectively. However the Bearcats moved to the brink of victory with straight set wins over Wales (#2) and Zalewski (#3). Shelton came from a break behind in the second set and fought off several match-points to force a tiebreak. But he eventually lost 7-6, 7-6 (7-2) for the final point. The #6 singles match went unfinished. Whitworth finished the 2009 men's tennis schedule 11-12 and Friday's late win over UPS ended a seven-match losing streak for the Pirates. |
