2008 Men's Tennis Season Review
IT'S BEEN A LONG, LONG TIME: It took over three years and a match lasting 5 hours, 38 minutes for Pacific to snap their epic losing skid Friday as the Boxers took a 5-4 decision over Lewis & Clark on Mar. 28 at the L&C Tennis Dome. The Boxers' last victory in a counting match came on Apr. 18, 2004, when the Boxers defeated Willamette 5-2 in the seventh place match of the NWC Tennis Tournament, their last match of the season.
The Boxers received singles victories from Patrick Kinghorn, Nhat Nguyen and Jeffrey Lee and doubles victories from the teams of Michael Okada and Michael Kinney and Lee and Ryan Ford to snap their 54-match losing streak.
The Big Win
PACIFIC 5, LEWIS & CLARK 4
Mar. 28 at Portland, Ore.
SINGLES
1. Allen (LC) def. Okada (PAC), 6-3, 6-1
2. Kinghorn (PAC) def. Wheeler (LC), 7-6, 6-2
3. Moller (LC) def. Kinney (PAC), 6-3, 6-4
4. Nguyen (PAC) def. Ray (LC), 6-3, 7-5
5. Kullowatz (LC) def. Shapiro (PAC), 6-3, 3-6, 7-5
6. Lee (PAC) def. Barnard (LC), 4-6, 6-1, 7-5
DOUBLES
1. Okada/Kinney (PAC) def. Allen/Wheeler (LC), 8-6
2. Moller/Ray (LC) def. Kinghorn/Nguyen (PAC), 8-3
3. Lee/Ford (PAC) def. Kullowatz/Youmans (LC), 9-8 (7-5)
Pacific opened the duel by taking two of the three doubles matches in a pair of close contests. Okada and Kinney picked up their third victory of the season at the No. 1 flight, scoring an 8-6 decision over George Allen and Luke Wheeler. Ford and Lee needed to go an extra set to knock off Matthias Kullowatz and Tom Youmans in the No. 3 match, outlasting the Pioneers 7-5 in the tiebreaking set for an 8-8, 7-5 victory.
Kinghorn started Pacific off in the singles, taking his first victory in a No. 2 match with a 7-6, 6-2 win over Luke Wheeler. Nguyen also picked up his first victory of his college career, holding off Peter Ray in the second set of his No. 4 match to score a 6-3, 7-5 victory. Aaron Shapiro tried to give Pacific the win at No. 5, forcing a third set with Kullowatz before dropping the tiebreaker in a 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 loss. It all came down to the No. 6 match, where Lee came back from a one-set deficit to Dylan Barnard to score a 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 victory.
NOT THE ONLY ONE: While the victory over Lewis & Clark was the only one that counted in the win/loss standings, the Boxers also picked a victory on their Spring Break trip to northern California. The Boxers scored a 6-3 victory over Sacramento City College on Mar. 24. The Boxers swept the doubles matches and received wins in the singles by Michael Okada at No. 1, Nhat Nguyen at No. 2 and Patrick Kinghorn at No. 3.
Pacific just missed a second victory earlier that day, falling 5-4 to Yuba Community College. The Boxers started with the lead, taking two of three doubles matches, but fell behind in the singles matches. Patrick Kinghorn and Ryan Ford earned Pacific's victories in the singles flights at No. 3 and No. 6, respectively.
STARTING OVER: In what has been a familiar theme for Pacific men's tennis over the last few years, the Boxers found themselves starting over for the 2008 season. Under first year Head Coach Brian Jackson, a former Division I player and current Pacific exercise science professor, the Boxers saw a complete rebuild of the roster. A total of six freshmen comprised most of the roster. Only Ryan Ford, a sophomore, returned from last year's team.
HAWAIIAN HAMMER: In what has been a weak spot for the Boxers in the recent past, Michael Okada did his part to shore up the Boxers' success at the top of the lineup. The freshman from Hilo, Hawaii, finished with a 5-12 singles record, with all of his matches at the No. 1 flight. Okada opened the season with back-to-back victories over Whitworth, going three sets to beat Henry Williams on Feb. 15 and three sets with Ed Anegon on Feb. 16. Okada also picked up NWC victories over George Fox's Ralf Schulz (twice) and a non-conference victory over Ted Wyatt of Whittier.
Okada also finished with Pacific's most doubles victories, combining with Justin Kinney to win three matches in the No. 1 flight. Okada and Kinney combined to take victories over Henry Williams and Kellen Oetgen of Whitworth, Ralf Schulz and Mac Ovenell of George Fox and George Allen and Luke Wheeler of Lewis & Clark.
LEARNING TOGETHER: Before coming to Pacific, Nhat Nguyen and Patrick Kinghorn had spent much of their lives playing tennis together. The pair put together a potent doubles duo for McKay High School in Salem going 12-2 their senior seasons.
The two paired again in their first season at Pacific and spent the season learning the ropes of playing Division III tennis. Nguyen and Kinghorn finished with a 2-14 record as the team's regular No. 2 doubles team. Their victories included an 8-4 decision over Colin Barrett and Phil Adridge of Whitworth and a 9-7 decision over Jordon Vargas and Billy Johnson of George Fox.
NOMADS OF THE COURT: Because of construction of a new residence hall on the former site of the Holce Tennis Courts, both the Pacific men's and women's tennis teams spent the season practicing and playing off-campus. The teams called home the Tualatin Hill Hills Tennis Center, located in Beaverton. The arrangement forced Pacific to endure early morning practices, but also allowed for indoor matches for Pacific's entire 2008 schedule.
Both teams are looking forward to a return to Forest Grove and a short walk to their practice and competition site. Construction of a new set of six courts is expected to begin over the summer on the site of the former Tom Reynolds Soccer Field.