TACOMA, Wash. – The Whitworth men's tennis team got back on the winning track on Friday night, earning an 8-1 win over Puget Sound at the UPS Tennis Pavilion.

The Pirates broke a three-match losing streak (not counting an exhibition win last week) to improve to 4-5 overall and 4-2 in the NWC.  The Loggers dropped to 1-5 overall and in the conference.

The final team score may not be a great indicator of how close the nine contests were.  Whitworth swept the double matches, but two of those were by a single break.  The only win by more than one service break came at #1 where Drew Brigham and Shane Sandlin doubled up Daniel Deuel and Jake Peterson 8-4.

The other two doubles matches were by 8-5 scores.  Blake Miller and Matt Goebel defeated Myles Rivera-Flam and Chas Stewart at #2, while John Talbot and Drew Adams topped John Stevens and Colton Wright at #3.

Three of the singles matches went more than two sets, and the Pirates took all three of those points.  Brigham came from behind to beat Deuel 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 at #1.  Talbot held off Rivera-Flam 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (10-7) at #3.  And Dustin McConnell earned his first singles win of the season with a 6-1, 1-6, 6-2 win at #5.

Miller earned a 6-4, 6-4 win over Noyes at #4, while Adams picked up his first singles victory of 2014 with a 6-4, 6-0 defeat of Wright at #6.

The only UPS point came at #2 singles where Stewart topped Chris Engelmann 6-1, 6-4.

Whitworth will head across town for a match at Pacific Lutheran on Saturday.