Bearcats Earn Wins at #1 Singles and #2 Doubles in 7-2 Loss to Puget Sound

Andrew Kabacy follows through on a groundstroke. — Andrew Kabacy (Grad., Vancouver, WA/Skyview HS)

September 17, 2022

Team Stats

Game Statistics	Willamette	Puget Sound
Score	2	7

Doubles

Smolskis, Mike / Del Barco, Rene def. Kabacy, Andrew / Nigbur, Quentin 8-5
Mladenovic, Velibor / Kropp, Andrew def. Church, Will / Sawyer, Brayden 8-6
Pulido, Nicholas / Buck, Levi def. Lief, Andre / Thornhill, Garrett 8-1

Singles

Kabacy, Andrew def. Beckman, Trent 6-0 , 6-3
Pulido, Nicholas def. Nigbur, Quentin 6-0 , 6-3
Blakeney, Conor def. Mladenovic, Velibor 6-3 , 1-6 , 6-3
Ward, Carson def. Kropp, Andrew 6-3 , 6-0
Merzbach, Matthew def. Lief, Andre 6-0 , 6-0
Lybeck, David def. Allen, Trey 6-4 , 7-5

By Timothy Walsh, Athletics Communications Assistant

TACOMA, Wash. -- Andrew Kabacy (Grad., Vancouver, WA/Skyview HS) rolled to a win at #1 singles, while Velibor Mladenovic (Fy., Belgrade, Serbia) and Andrew Kropp (Sr., Bend, OR/Summit HS) prevailed at #2 doubles, but Willamette University fell 7-2 to the University of Puget Sound in men's tennis on Saturday, Sept. 17 at the PS Tennis Pavilion. Although both the Bearcats and the Loggers compete in the Northwest Conference, Saturday's contest was a non-conference match.

Kabacy defeated Trent Beckman, 6-0, 6-3, in the top singles match. Nicholas Pulido of UPS won #2 singles over Quentin Nigbur (Newberg, OR/Newberg HS), 6-0, 6-3, but the #3 singles match between Mladenovic and Puget Sound's Conor Blakeney went all three sets, with Blakeney holding on for a 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 victory. At #4 singles, Carson Ward won 6-3, 6-0 over Kropp, and in the #5 singles match, the Loggers' Matthew Merzbach defeated Andre Lief (So., Anchorage, AK/West Anchorage HS), 6-0, 6-0. Both sets were very competitive at #6 singles, with David Lybeck outlasting Willamette's Trey Allen (Tucson, AZ/BASIS Tucson North HS), 6-4, 7-5.

Smolskis and Rene Del Barco of UPS prevailed at #1 doubles against Kabacy and Nigbur, 8-5. Mladenovic and Kropp edged out Will Church and Brayden Sawyer, 8-6, at #2 doubles. Puget Sound's team of Pulido and Levi Buck took #3 doubles by an 8-1 score against Lief and Garrett Thornhill (Fy., Bandon, OR/Mountainside HS).

The Bearcats will complete their fall season at the ITA Northwest Regional Championships in Portland, Ore. Play will begin on Thursday, Sept. 29 and continue through Sunday, Oct. 2.