PHILADELPHIA  The day started and ended their for Whitman College's 24th-ranked men's tennis team, but in between the members of a split squad took care of league business with a Northwest Conference at home to allow the Blues to finish Saturday with three wins in three tries.

The squad that was on the East Coast earned a 7-2 win over Haverford (Pa.) College, which is ranked 11th in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's Atlantic South region, in a match that began at 5 a.m. Pacific Time. The afternoon match in Philly was at No. 26 Swarthmore (Pa.) College and the Blues took that one by a 6-3 count. In between was the home match at the Bratton Indoor Tennis Center on campus against visiting Pacific Lutheran University, and the home-standing portion of the split squad was able to roll through a 9-0 victory over the Lutes.

First-year Alex Wang was among the Walla Walla Blues that put together a strong day at Bratton, winning his No. 2 singles match, 4 and 3, after pairing with Adam Rapoport at 1-doubles in an 8-6 triumph.

Rajul Chikkalingaiah, Luke Targett, Azur Ali, Jacob Christensen and Rapoport all, in fact, shared the wealth by winning in both their singles and doubles matches.

Out east, Whitman picked up important match wins from Zach Hewlin in the 1-singles spot where he won 3 and 2 in the Haverford match, and then 7-6 (7) and 6-4 in the top spot against 29th-ranked Mark Fallati of Swarthmore. Hewlin, ranked 40th in the ITA national singles rankings, teamed with Petar Jivkov to add a doubles point in each match as well.

Jivkov shared, with Robert Carter, two of the most exciting matches for Whitman in Philly, both coming in the match against Swarthmore.

Earning the fourth point of the match for the Blues, Jivkov -- after scratching out a 7-5 first-set win -- bounced back from a 6-0 whitewash in the second set to John Larkin and took the deciding third, 6-2.

Carter dropped his opening set, 6-2, to Swat's Ari Cepelewicz but roared back with a 6-2 victory in the second, then clinched the winning point for Whitman with a 7-5 win over Cepelewicz in the third.

The singles match heroics were set up against the Garnet by doubles wins at Nos. 1 and 2. Carter and Jake Hoeger, 24th as a duo nationally, paired up for an 8-2 win at 1-doubles over Swat's 20th-ranked teaming of Fallati and Josh Powell.

Hewlin and Jivkov took No. 2 by an 8-5 count.

The weekend continues on split coasts for the Whitman men as the Philly group will battle No. 28 Christopher Newport (Va.) University on Sunday, while the Walla Walla group will welcome Willamette University to Bratton for a conference match.