Willamette overwhelmed by Pacific Boxers

SALEM, OR – Starting with high energy and a dominant display in doubles play, the Willamette University tennis team ultimately fell to the Pacific University Boxers 6-1 on Saturday afternoon. Despite the final scoreline, the Bearcats showed a competitive spirit.

The afternoon began with Willamette asserting their dominance in doubles action, capturing the opening point of the match with two victories. At the No. 1 spot, the duo of AJ Avansino and Hudson Snyder set the tone early, dismantling Pacific's Jonathan Nguyen and Dawson Hose with an impressive 6-3 win. However, the Boxers took the No. 2 doubles match. In the No. 3 court, Luca Casano and Sohnosuke Sakaguchi rose to the occasion, outlasting Joshua Dela and Gaven Soriano in a 6-4 thriller to clinch the doubles point for the Bearcats. The victory gave Willamette a 1-0 lead heading into singles play and provided a surge of momentum for the home side. However, the Boxers proved why they are a formidable Northwest Conference opponent as the match moved into singles.

At the No. 1 position, AJ Avansino prepared to extend the Bearcat lead, storming through the first set 6-2 against Joshua Dela. However, Dela managed to find his rhythm, clawing back to take the next two sets 6-2, 6-2 in a high-quality marathon match. Courts 2 and 3 saw the Bearcats push their opponents to the absolute brink. Jake Bronson (No. 2) and Sohnosuke Sakaguchi (No. 3) both battled through tight second sets, each falling just short in 7-5 frames after hard-hitting rallies. Their ability to stay neck-and-neck with the Boxers' top rotation highlighted a Bearcat squad that refuses to go down without a fight. Hudson Snyder and Zack Olander also put up strong resistance at the No. 4 and No. 5 spots, respectively. Snyder kept things close in a 6-4, 6-4 battle against Dawson Hose, while Olander showed resilience in a 6-2, 6-4 effort against Lucas Fuhrmann. At the No. 6 spot, Jack Hally competed hard but fell to Steele Toguchi.

While the overall result went in favor of the Boxers, the Bearcats can take pride in their doubles chemistry and their ability to jump out to an early lead. The tactical play from the pairs of Avansino/Snyder and Casano/Sakaguchi provides a strong blueprint for the Bearcats as they continue their season. Willamette will look to build on that doubles success and turn those close singles sets into wins as they prepare for their next conference challenge.

Next the Bearcats compete against Linfield University in a home match on February 15th at 9:00 am.