WALLA WALLA, Wash.  Whitman College's 11th-ranked men's tennis team ran 12 different players onto the courts Sunday in coming away with an 8-1 Northwest Conference victory over visiting Willamette University.

With a 10 a.m. start and a sharp morning chill in the air, doubles matches were played at the Bratton Indoor Tennis Center followed by the singles matches outdoor on the Whitman Tennis Courts.

The Blues (9-6, 6-0 NWC) raced through the doubles bouts, surrendering a total of just four games to tandems from Willamette (2-7, 1-4).

Gary Ho and Robert Carter in the No. 2 slot, and Jack Fleming and Luke Targett at 3-doubles each won their matches by 8-1 counts. Trevor Fennessy teamed with Alex Hwang at No. 1 for a quick 8-2 victory to close out the Blues' doubles sweep.

Within its five wins during singles action, Whitman gave up a combined total of seven games -- and not more than one game within any set.

Ben Kirsh disposed of the Bearcats' Aaron Schechter, 6-1 and 6-0, at No. 1 for the initial singles point for the Blues. Daniel Foster, at 2-singles, followed with a 6-1 and 6-1 triumph over Gene Perle-Jones for the clinching fifth point.

In order, Nishaant Limaye, Rajul Chikkalingaiah and Jack Freer then won out in straight sets in the Nos. 4, 3 and 5 matches, respectively.

Next up for the Blues is a split squad day on April 7. One squad to head to Parkland, Washington, for a conference match against Pacific Lutheran University, while another squad will travel east into Idaho to take on host Lewis-Clark State College in an early match, with a neutral-site bout on the L-C State courts to follow against the University of Idaho.