WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- Lewis-Clark State, No. 20 in the latest NAIA national rankings, rolled over Whitman College 9-0 in non-conference women's tennis action Saturday afternoon in Lewiston, Idaho.

Whitman, 13-8 on the season, used the match as a final tune-up for next week's Northwest Conference championship tournament.

Katie Oost

Lewis-Clark State, 9-9 on the season, took control of the match early and did not let up. Whitman’s Katie Oost and Divneet Kaur lost a close 8-5 decision at No. 1 doubles, but the Warriors completed the sweep in doubles with 8-1 wins in the No. 2 and No. 3 matches.

In singles, Lewis-Clark State won the six counting matches without dropping a set. Whitman’s Alex Robinson won at No. 7 singles (6-3, 4-6, 10-6), but the exhibition match didn’t count in the final team score.

Elise Otto, who normally plays No. 1 singles and doubles for Whitman, did not make the trip to Idaho. She stayed on campus to catch up on schoolwork and rest for next weekend’s conference tournament, coach John Hein said.

As a team, Hein said, "We did not want to go two weeks without a match. We wanted to make sure that we were in good shape and ready to go for conference."

After placing third in the NWC regular season with a 12-4 record, Whitman enters the tournament as the No. 3 seed.

Whitman plays a first-round tournament match against either Willamette or Pacific -- teams they beat twice during the regular season -- at noon on Friday, April 17. If Whitman wins that match, it advance sto a semifinal match later in the day against Linfield, the No. 2 seed.

The women's (and men's) NWC championship tournament takes place April 17-18 at the Yakima (Wash.) Tennis Club.

Lewis-Clark State 9, Whitman 0: Match Scores

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CONTACT: Andy Jobanek
Sports Information Student Intern
Whitman College, Walla Walla, Wash.
jobaneab@whitman.edu