PORTLAND, Ore.  Whitman's eighth-ranked men's tennis team completed its weekend on the road Sunday at Lewis & Clark College, where the Blues handed the host Pioneers their first loss of the season with a 7-2 victory that keeps Whitman's Northwest Conference record unblemished.

The Blues (14-3, 6-0 NWC) nabbed two points in the doubles matches to open up a 2-1 advantage. Zach Hewlin and Peter Jivkov teamed up at No. 1 for an 8-5 win over Brendan and Gordon Barrows, and the tandem of Gary Ho and Trevor Fennessy outlasted the Pios' Ben DeLuca and Jackson Powell, 9-8, at No. 3.

A straight-set win from Robert Carter at 4-singles upped the lead, but the Pios were able to steal at win at No. 2 to inch back within reach, at 3-2.

Hewlin recovered from a first-set loss to Raed Attia at No.1 to win the next two sets for the fourth Whitman point, leaving the clinching point to Chase Friedman at 3-singles with a 6-7, 7-5, 6-2 victory over Gordon Barrows.

Daniel Foster at No. 5 and Ho at No. 6 each added straight-set wins after the match winner had been decided.

The loss was the first of the season for Lewis & Clark (8-1, 8-1).

Sunday's win comes on the heels of an 8-1 win Saturday at Linfield College.

The Blues leave conference action for their next match, heading to Southern California for the Stag-Hen Invitational, hosted by Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges and Pomona-Pitzer Colleges in Claremont, Calif. Whitman's first opponent Tuesday morning will be second-ranked Bowdoin (Maine) College.