The men’s and women’s tennis teams battled sunny skies and mild winds March 4-6 in matches against Pacific Lutheran and George Fox universities, defeating both teams 7-2, 8-1 and 9-0, 9-0, respectively.
“This weekend was pretty successful,” junior Mark Magdaong said. “We just have to stay positive, practice hard and not get too confident about the win.”
The men’s tennis team celebrated two of three strong doubles victories at PLU, with doubles team Magdaong and junior Brent Kingzett winning 8-3, and senior Matt Levering and freshman Zachary Lyons winning 8-2, which helped carry the team to a victory.
The team’s largest obstacle during the match was compensating for senior Kyle Anderson’s absence, Magdaong said.
“Everyone else had to move up one spot, but I knew everyone in our lineup would be able to compete well,” he said.
In the home match against George Fox on March 6, the men’s team set its Northwest Conference record to 6-0 for the season in an 8-1 victory. Magdaong also won his sixth consecutive match in singles play, with the team winning five singles matches overall.
“We all just did a really good job of supporting each other,” he said. “We know everyone has our backs.”
The women’s team halted the Bruins’ Northwest Conference wins after crushing them 9-0 March 4 with a strong lead in doubles play, junior Sophie Larson said.
“It’s really hard to win 9-0,” she said.
The home match March 5 against PLU also snatched a 9-0 win, mostly because of doubles play, Larson said, as each team won by four points or more.
“Everyone won pretty easily on Friday,” Larson said.
Both teams are anxiously awaiting this weekend’s matches against Willamette and Pacific universities as well as Lewis & Clark College, and they expect to fight hard for a win, Magdaong said.
“We’re still undefeated,” he said. “But this weekend will determine the standing.”
Larson said the women’s team is focusing on beginning strong with doubles to carry the team to a win.
The men’s and women’s teams will play Willamette at home March 13 and at Pacific the following day.
“We’re just trying to stay healthy and focused — I know we can compete well,” Magdaong said.

Chelsea Langevin
Senior reporter Chelsea Langevin can be reached at [email protected]