PORTLAND, Ore. - One point shy of its first Northwest Conference loss of the season Sunday afternoon the Whitman College women's tennis team stormed back to down host Lewis & Clark College, 5-4, with wins from
Jenna Dobrin,
Lindsey Brodeck and
Erin Bell in the final three singles matches still on the courts at the L&C Tennis Dome.
The 25th-ranked Missionaries (11-5, 8-0 NWC) earned the first two points of the afternoon in doubles play but the No. 31 Pioneers (13-3, 8-1) won the last doubles match then pulled within a point of dealing Whitman its first conference loss by taking wins in the first three singles matches completed.
Dobrin was the first Whittie to fight off a team-match point by downing L&C's Aurora Garrison in straight sets (6-4, 6-4) at 2-singles. There was less drama in the second of the Missionaries' rally as Brodeck rolled to an easy 6-1, 6-1 victory over the Pioneer's Glenna Gee-Taylor at No. 6.
The Dobrin and Brodeck wins set up a winner-take-all contest at No. 5 where Bell and Claudia Lew were battling.
That singles match-up wouldn't be the first time the two had seen each other Sunday as Bell had partnered with
Katrina Allick at 2-doubles to earn the second Whitman point with an 8-4 win over Lew and teammate Summer Garrison. Courtney and
Morgan Lawless paired up for the initial Missionaries point at No. 1 doubles.
Lew struck first against Bell in their singles contest, taking the opening set by a score of 7-5 and inching to within one set of keeping the Pios unbeaten in league play.
Bell turned the momentum in her favor with an equalizing win, 6-3, in the second set then finally completed Whitman's rally with a resounding 6-2 win in the match-deciding third set.
Sunday's victory over L&C puts Whitman alone atop the league standings with two weeks remaining in the regular season.
The Missionaries will look to keep their league record unblemished with their next matches Saturday morning and afternoon. The early match pits Whitman against host Pacific (Ore.) University, already a victim of the Missionaries in late February, and the late match sees Willamette University host Whitman for the first time this season.
