PORTLAND, Ore. – Time ran out on Whitman College's 25th-ranked women's tennis team Sunday afternoon as the Whitties' attempt at winning its fifth straight Northwest Conference tournament came to an end with No. 18 Lewis & Clark College wresting the title away behind a 5-2 victory over the visiting Whitties in the tournament's championship match played at the Pioneers' L&C Tennis Dome.
Whitman (14-10) picked up a point in doubles action from
Lindsey Brodeck and
Allie Wallin at No. 3, but the Pios (18-2) earned a 2-1 lead heading into singles with wins at 1- and 2-doubles.
A win at 3-singles grew Lewis & Clark's advantage to 3-1 but Wallin trimmed the deficit at No. 4.
A doubles winner and provider of the clinching point in singles Saturday in the semifinal round, Wallin added her second point of the day Sunday with a straight-set victory over the Pios' Christine Eliazo. Wallin out-dueled Eliazo 7-6 (2) in the opening set then completed the win in the second with a 6-4 victory.
That would be Whitman's final point, however, as NWC player of the year Summer Garrison earned L&C's fourth point with a win (7-6 (6), 6-3) over
Jenna Dobrin at 1-singles and Aurora Garrison would outlast the Whitties'
Mary Hill at No. 2 by scores of 6-1, 4-6 and 7-5.
The tournament victory gives Lewis & Clark the conference's automatic qualifying bid into the 2016 NCAA Division III tournament, while the loss most likely ends Whitman's season. At-large bids into the tournament are not easy to come by and the Whitties will probably be on the outside looking in when the tournament field is announced.
"This was really a well-played match by both teams," said Whitman head coach
John Hein. "We just weren't able to get a few of those final points to fall in tie-breakers or third sets, but nonetheless I'm really proud of the way our players battled.
"Our team improved a lot over the course of the season, and though most easily seen in doubles play we gained momentum across the board all the way through the season. I can't ask for anything more from a team," Hein concluded.
