WALLA WALLA, Wash. – The opening match of the 2015 WC Winter Classic pitted No. 29 Whitman College against No. 38 Whittier College, but the battle of the Whits never materialized as the Missionaries downed the visiting Poets, 8-1, at the Bratton Indoor Tennis Center Friday morning.
Whitman (4-2) carried a 2-1 lead from doubles play into singles action where it swept Whittier (2-4) winning all six singles bouts.
Allie Wallin was the first to pick up a singles point for Whitman, registering her third consecutive win with a 6-2, 6-1 victory at 4-singles against the Poets' Alexis Agustin. During Wallin's brief win streak she's not dropped a set and has surrendered a total of six games to an opponent.
Morgan Lawless was the next finisher at No. 3 singles, taking a straight-set (6-0, 6-2) win from Whittier's Benay Weintraub. Lawless' win pushed Whitman to the bring of clinching the match victory, which came quickly at 2-singles.
Jenna Dobrin rolled past Gabi Etchegaray, 6-0 and 6-1, to elevate Whitman's points advantage to an insurmountable 5-1. Dobrin had teams with
Madison Webster at 3-doubles for a resounding 8-0 win to start the morning for the Missionaries.
Lindsey Brodeck, at No. 6 singles, also had a short day, taking down the Poets' Laura Roston in straight sets while giving up just two games.
Both
Courtney Lawless and
Erin Bell were forced to work overtime to allow Whitman to complete the singles sweep.
Courtney Lawless easily captured, 6-0, the opening set of her No. 1 pairing against Whittier's Meagan Zamilpa, but the Poets' top player bounced back to take the second, 6-4, to force a third, super-tiebreak set. Courtney prevailed in the set, 1-0(6) to finally capture the match.
Bell and Jada Henry from Whittier were the final two players on the Bratton courts, long after team match had been decided but neither wanting to give in to the other at 5-singles. Henry stroked her way to a lead with an opening-set win, 6-3, but Bell rallied to take the second by the same score. Forced into the super tiebreak the pair nearly alternated points but it was Bell who was able to come out on top, 1-0(8), to remain unbeaten on the year in singles play and to finish off the Whitman singles sweep of the Poets.
The WC Winter Classic continues Friday afternoon with a match between the University of Texas–Tyler, ranked No. 39 nationally and eighth in the West Region, and Lewis & Clark College, 15th in the West, followed by the nightcap between Whittier and Linfield College.
Saturday's three matches involve Wittier and Texas–Tyler, Linfield and Lewis & Clark. The two matches scheduled for Sunday see Whitman taking on Texas–Tyler at 9 a.m. before battling visiting Whitworth University, 12th in the West at approximately 1 p.m.
