Bearcats Finish Competition at ITA Northwest Regional in Men's Tennis
By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director, (503) 370-6110
WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- The Willamette University men's tennis team competed in the championship singles bracket, the championship doubles bracket and the consolation brackets at the ITA Northwest Regional on Saturday, Sept. 24.
In the championship singles bracket, six Bearcats were in action. Douglas Hochmuth (Sr./So., Oakland, CA/Bishop O'Dowd HS) lost in the first round to the #1 seed in the overall bracket, Zach Hewlin from Whitman College, 6-0, 6-0. Derek Lund (Jr., Helena, MT/Capital HS) fell to Michael Brewer from Lewis & Clark, 6-0, 6-0. Brewer, who was one of eight players seeded #9, later upset Hewlin in the quarterfinals.
Aaron Schechter (So., Seattle, WA/James A. Garfield HS) from Willamette was defeated by Gordon Barrows of L&C, 6-0, 6-1, in the first round. Gunnar Lee (Sr., Hilo, HI/St. Joseph School) played a strong first set before losing to Joey Diaz of Whitman, 7-5, 6-0. Colin Fisher (Fr., Caldwell, ID/Thomas Jefferson Charter School) of the Bearcats fell to Luciano Ferrer from Pacific, 6-2, 6-0, while Hunter Yee (Fr., Honolulu, HI/Punahou School) was downed by Tyler Linscott from Linfield, 6-2, 6-0.
In championship doubles play, Willamette's team of Yee and Fisher defeated Whitworth's team of John Bethards and Ian Fisher, 8-5 in a pro-set in the first round. Lund and Hochmuth advanced to the second round by default over Chase Friedman and Adam Rapoport of Whitman.
Hewlin and Gary Ho of Whitman downed Yee and Fisher in the second round, 8-1. Lund and Hochmuth fell to Shane Sandlin and Caleb Hughes of Whitworth in the second round, 8-0.
Yee reached the second round of the consolation singles bracket after advancing by default over Rapoport from Whitman in the first round. In the second round, Hwang of Whitman defeated Yee, 8-1. Lee also moved into the second round by default against Jose Luis Rojas of Linfield, before losing to Alex Namba from George Fox University, 8-4 in the second round.
Bearcats who fell in the first round of the consolation singles bracket were Hochmuth, Lund, Schechter, Fisher. Hochmuth lost to John Lutaaya of Linfield, 8-1. Lund was outscored by Ben McNair from Linfield, 8-4. Schechter lost by a similar 8-4 score to John Bethards of Whitworth. Fisher was defeated by Jacob Mangan of Linfield, 8-3.
Mackinney advanced to the semifinals for the Bearcats in the singles qualifying consolation bracket. In the opening round, Mackinney defeated Hogins of Whitworth, 6-2. In the second round, Mackinney moved past Alan Warden of Linfield, 6-1. John Mackay from George Fox downed Mackinney in the semifinals, 6-0.
Three Willamette athletes were defeated in the first round of singles qualifying consolation play. Gene Perle-Jones (Fr., Eugene, OR/North Eugene HS) fell to Mackay, 6-4. Endy Zarate (So., Salem, OR/McKay HS) was defeated by Liam Spearnak of Linfield, 6-1. Ethan Frank (Fr., Lahaina, HI/Maui Preparatory Academy) lost to Thomas Foy from Linfield, 6-4.