WALLA WALLA - A winning streak that was born in April 2008 continued Sunday afternoon at the Bratton Tennis Center.

The No. 7 regionally- and No. 16 nationally-ranked Whitman men's tennis team recorded the program's 106th consecutive Northwest Conference victory - a 9-0 triumph over Lewis & Clark.

Sunday's win advanced the six-time defending NWC champion Missionaries to 4-0 in league and 5-1 overall.

Whitman's Andy Riggs competed in one of the day's better matches. Riggs battled back from a one-set deficit to take a No. 1 singles verdict from the Pioneers' Michael Brewer, 4-6, 6-4, 10-6.

"We've been trying to get Andy a No. 1 match," Whitman coach Jeff Northam said. "The kid he played is one of the best freshmen in the conference. It was good for him to step up and play at a higher level.

"He started slow, but did a great job of picking his level of play up," Northam said. "It was nice to see him rise to that occasion."

Petar Jivkov, at No. 3 singles, survived a first-set tiebreaker to top Lewis & Clark's Daniel Hahm, 7-6(7-3), 6-2.

"Petar has got to learn to close out matches, but he came through to win," Northam said. "He's very talented and is a great competitor. He's been a great addition to our top six."

Steve Roston, James Rivers, Jake Hoeger, and Alex Noyes prevailed at second, fourth, fifth and sixth singles, respectively.

The tightest doubles match occurred at No. 1. Whitman's Colton Malesovas and Andrew La Cava eked out a 9-7 victory over Brewer and Cameron Smith.

"Our experience got us through that match," Northam said.

Rivers teamed up with Roston for a win at No. 2 doubles while Hoeger and Jivkov emerged victorious at No. 3.  

Whitman figures to have its hands full next weekend. It concludes its six-match homestand by hosting Northwest Conference foe Pacific and No. 8 nationally-ranked Trinity (Tex.) on Friday, second-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Saturday, and No. 12 UC-Santa Cruz on Sunday.

"They may be the second best team in the conference," Northam said of the Boxers. "We view it as one of our toughest matches of the year.

"C-M-S is favored to win the national title this year," Northam said. "It will be a special weekend. It will be a busy weekend, but what a great opportunity for us."

Match Results