Trudel, Peterson Net ITA Doubles Title
WALLA WALLA - Joel Trudel and Justin Peterson upset top-seeded Matt Solomon and Jeffrey Tolman from Whitman, 6-3, 7-5, on Monday afternoon to win the doubles title at the Wilson/ITA Pacific Northwest Regional Tennis Championships.
Trudel and Peterson entered the tournament ranked No. 2 in the doubles event, and their win over the Whitman pair ended a string of three consecutive ITA regional tournament doubles wins by Solomon.
As a result of their win, Trudel and Peterson advance to the ITA's Small College Championships scheduled for Oct. 15-18 in Mobile, Ala.
Trudel and Peterson used service breaks late in each set to take home the title. With the first set even at 3-3, the two Lutes won the next three games, twice breaking Whitman serves.
With set two on serve and Pacific Lutheran up 6-5, the match turned a final time in favor of the Lutes. Solomon and Tolman staved off two match points and were one point away from winning the game and sending the set to a tie-breaker.
But Trudel and Peterson, two talented and battle-tested seniors, won the next three points to capture the set and match. They sailed through the two sets without once losing their serve.
The outcome was the end of a long day for Solomon, a senior, and Tolman, a freshman. Both played two singles matches earlier in the day as that portion of the tournament drew to a close. Solomon defeated Tolman in three sets to win his third straight ITA regional singles title.
After a one-hour break - time that Tolman spent in the Whitman training room - the two Whitman players returned to the court for the doubles final against Peterson and Trudel.
(Courtesy of Whitman Sports Information Office)
