Ephs defeat Cal Lutheran, 7-2
THOUSAND OAKS, CA. - Williams men's tennis (4-0) picked up their second win on spring break, defeating #25 Cal Lutheran (11-5), 7-2. The Kingsmen had just come off a solid come from behind victory over seventeenth-ranked Lewis-Clark, but the Ephs halted any momentum from the home team after securing a 3-0 lead exiting doubles play.
Nick Lebedoff and Will Petrie at court two, and Kevin Shallcross and Jeremy Weinberger at court three, played routine doubles victories, while Bret Thacher and Dicken Chaplin battled at court one. The veteran doubles player and the young freshman pulled out a critical tiebreaker to sweep doubles play.
Although Lebedoff and Weinberger lost in their singles matches, the bottom of the lineup delivered for the Ephs once more. Devlin and Petrie tallied straight set wins, while senior Karol Furmaga moved up one spot in the lineup to court five. Furmaga lost only one game of his match, dealing Cal Lutheran's Dante Culpepper a 6-1, 6-0 blow. Sophomore Ari Binder looked good in his first action of spring break at court six, also notching a straight set win.
"We are certainly blessed to have great depth in the lineup," said Williams' head coach Dave Donn. "I was most excited about our doubles play though. Cal Lutheran has had great success in doubles against some of the top teams, so going into singles with a 3-0 lead gave us a lot of confidence. It really set the tone for the rest of the match."
Williams will take on their third ranked opponent in California, set to play #13 University of Redlands at 2:00 p.m. (PST) tomorrow.
Williams 7, Cal Lutheran 2
Doubles-
1) Bret Thacher/Dicken Chaplin (W) def. Paul Wetterholm/Forrest Hunt (CL) --- 9-8 (7-4)
2) Nick Lebedoff/Will Petrie (W) def. Andrew Guiffrida/Dante Culpepper (CL) --- 8-1
3) Kevin Shallcross/Jeremy Weinberger (W) def. Ryan Lassila/Payton Aarestad (CL) --- 8-3
Singles-
1) Guiffrida (CL) def. Lebedoff (W) --- 6-4, 6-3
2) Wetterholm (CL) def. Weinberger (W) --- 1-6, 6-1, 7-6 (11-9)
3) Rick Devlin (W) def. Hunt (CL) --- 6-0, 6-4
4) Petrie (W) def. Lassila (CL) --- 6-3, 6-1
5) Karol Furmaga (W) def. Culpepper (CL) --- 6-1, 6-0
6) Ari Binder (W) def. Michael Tribble (CL) --- 6-0, 6-3
