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FOREST GROVE, Ore. - The Pacific Lutheran University men's tennis squad suffered its first setback of the season on Sunday, stumbling 9-0 to nationally-ranked Pacific University in a non-conference dual match.
 
"Pacific was a great challenge for us," said Head Coach John Campbell. "They're nationally-ranked and very deep. It gave us a chance to see where we need to get to and it was also a good mental challenge as it was very cold so we had to overcome the conditions and focus on what we could control."
 
In doubles, Justin deMattos and Hampus Pers Eliasson provided a stiff test at the No. 2 spot before ultimately falling 8-3 to the Boxers' (3-0) tandem of Sean Murphy and Jonathan Chung. Marcus Lee and Michael Campbell were unseated 8-2 at the No. 1 position while Branson Near and Jake Kim fell by an identical 8-2 scoreline at No. 3.
 
Lutes' (2-1) No. 1 single player Michael Campbell pushed Murphy to the brink before falling, 6-4, 6-3, while deMattos fell, 6-2, 6-1, at No. 2. Pers Eliasson battled hard at No. 3 before coming up short, 6-2, 6-4. 

Host Pacific entered the match ranked 40th in the nation in the most recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll.
 
"Our top three singles played strong, especially Hampus whose game really came together and came close to pulling through. The other guys had to deal with Pacific's depth but all of them see that they have the potential to compete at that level. We'll go back to work on the things we learned from this challenge and will be better from it."
 
The Lutes open up their home slate on Saturday, hosting Whitworth University at 6 p.m. at the Sprinker Rec Center in a match rescheduled from this weekend.