WALLA WALLA, Wash. – Whitman College's women's tennis team ran its win streak to seven with Saturday afternoon's 9-0 Northwest Conference victory over visiting Pacific Lutheran College. The victory keeps the Missionaries unbeaten in league play as the squad steps outside of conference action for its next matches in California over spring break.
Saturday's contest at the Bratton Indoor Tennis Center began with a 3-0 lead for Whitman (8-2, 6-0 NWC) after doubles play.
Madison Webster and
Hanna Greenberg teamed up at 3-doubles for the team's first win, 8-0, and
Erin Bell and
Katrina Allick added the second point with an 8-3 win at No. 2.
The visiting Lutes (2-5, 1-5) put up greater fight at 1-doubles as twins Courtney and
Morgan Lawless had their hands full with PLU's Caroline Dreher and Samantha Lund. Whitman's tandem was up 7-5 but Dreher and Lund rallied to win the next two games and cast doubt on the outcome. Turnabout was fair play, however, as Courtney and Morgan reeled off wins in the next two games to seal a hard-fought 9-7 win.,
In singles play Webster again sparked Whitman with a straight-set win at No. 4 during which she dropped just two games. After
Alexandra Sigouin secured another quick point at No. 3 to clinch the team victory, Bell kept the momentum rolling with a 6-4, 6-2 win at 2-singles.
Allie Wallin slid up the ladder to play at No. 1 but had little resistance from Dreher as Wallin scored a 6-3, 6-3 win over the top Lutes player.
The final two matches played out a little longer than the previous four.
Jenna Gilbert had things in hand at 6-singles, after a quick 6-2 win in the opening set, but PLU's Stephanie Baker proved harder to handle in the second set. Gilbert surrendered the first game of the second set but leaped in front with wins in the next two games. She never trailed again but Baker didn't go quietly, pushing back until Gilbert secured a 7-5 win to take another point.
That left Allick on Court 1 against PLU's Emily Beemsterboer. The No. 5 singles players were equally solid in separate sets with Allick storming to a 6-2 win in the opener followed by Beemsterboer's equalizing win, 6-3, in the second. Allick, however, regained her form in the super-tiebreaker third set recording a 1-0 (10-4) win to finish off the day for Whitman.
The Missionaries open their spring break trip to Claremont, California, with a neutral-site match Monday against sixth-ranked Bowdoin (Maine) College.
