Men’s tennis took a trip to Sunrise, Ariz. to compete in their first PacWest Championships on April 19. The eighth-seeded Eagles played with a slight chance of moving forward in the next few rounds of the tournament, but they lost in their first tournament matchup against the University of Hawaii Hilo Vulcans by a final score of 5-0, ending their 2018 spring season.

EAGLES BATTLE FOR A WIN

The top-seeded Vulcans began their dominance over the Eagles in the doubles matches. The duo of seniors Philip Westwood and Lucas Lee came close in their match but lost with a score of 8-4. The pairing of freshman Logan Blair and senior Joe Turnquist lost by 8-3 and the duo featuring freshman Quentin Lau and sophomore Derek James also fell short by a score of 8-2.

In the singles matches, many of the Eagles matches were left unfinished due to surrendering and forfeits. The two Eagles that did finish their singles matches fell short of a win in each set. James took on a close first set of 6-3 and lost the second by 6-2. Turnquist also fell short in both sets by a score of 6-3.

LAST CALL FOR HOPE

Lau’s match gave the Eagles hope for a win in the game. Lau lost the first set by a score of 6-2 and in the second set, he grabbed the Eagles’ first singles set win of the day, by 6-1. In the third set, Lau continued to stay in the lead by 2-1 but left the match unfinished.

The Eagles ended their first PacWest season by placing seventh in the conference by 6-14 overall. They will compete in the ITA Regional Tournament in the fall before taking on their second season in the PacWest.