Lutes get back on track in Northwest Conference play

Men’s tennis takes down lesser opponents

Ellen Kanuch - kanuches@plu.edu

Mast Sports Reporter

Pacific Lutheran men’s tennis improved its record to 11-2 in Northwest Conference play with an 8-1 victory over Puget Sound Loggers Wednesday April 2 on the PLU courts. The Lutes are now ranked No. 29 in NCAA Division III men’s tennis.

The duo of sophomore Kevin Floyd and senior Justin Larimore gave the Lutes a head start with an 8-2 win over Jamie Hosmer and Sam McCullugh at No. 1 doubles. Sophomore Justin Peterson and Sophomore Michael Manser defeated Nick Amlund and Alex Harrison, 8-3, at No. 2 doubles, and First-year Scott Sheldon and senior Jared Vidano competed hard as they shut down Scooter Sabel and Carl Larson, 8-6, at No. 3 doubles.

In singles action, Floyd defeated Jamie Hosmer 6-3, 6-2 at the No. 1 spot. Larimore took another easier victory over his opponent Nick Amlund, 6-1, 6-1 at the No. 2 spot. At No. 3, Peterson beat Sam McCullugh 6-0, 6-1. Sheldon was prepared to win as he swept Larson, 6-0, 6-0, at No. 6.
Puget Sound was able to pick-up one victory during the match, at No. 5 singles where Sabel beat senior Tory Silvestrin, 6-3, 6-3.

The Lutes continued their winning streak when they whipped the Whitworth Pirates 8-1 last Saturday afternoon at Scotford Tennis Center in Spokane, Wash.
The Northwest Conference contest was the second of the season among the two squads. Back March 1 at the PLU home courts, the Lutes smashed the Pirates 8-1, not even losing a set during singles play.

“It was nice to come out with a win last weekend, especially after a tough spring break,” Floyd said.

In doubles play, Floyd and Larimore topped Whitworth’s Ed Anegon and Brian Elliot, 8-2, at No. 1. Then, Whitworth’s Joe Wales and Scott Donnell picked up an 8-5 win at No. 2 over Manser and Peterson. PLU stepped it up, and pulled out a win at No. 3 doubles when Sheldon and James Crosetto took an 8-5 win over Henry Williams and Josh Steele.

The Lutes showed off their strength with a sweep from the top singles players. Floyd defeated his opponent Steele, 6-1, 6-2 at No. 1, Larimore beat Elliot, 7-6, 6-4 at No. 2 and Peterson took Anegon, 6-3, 6-1 at No. 3.

“For the next two weeks we are going to start buckling down and preparing to defend our Conference title,” Floyd said.

Now that the Lutes have captured another win, they bumped their record to 12-10 for the season and to 12-2 in their Northwest Conference matches. The Lutes will finish off the regular season this weekend with home matches against Linfield on Friday at 2 p.m. and George Fox on Saturday at 10 a.m.

Photo by Chris Hunt

Senior Justin Larimore goes for a forehand against Whitman at the UPS Tennis Pavilion March 1. The Lutes lost to Whitman 9-0. The Lutes beat both Puget Sound and Whitworth 8-1 this past week, making their NWC record 12-2.