McMINNVILLE, Ore.  Sunday brought a rematch of the 2016 Northwest Conference women's tennis tournament's championship match -- and Whitman produced the identical result, downing host and 25th-ranked Linfield College by a 5-3 count to claim the 2017 NWC title.

The victory earns 32nd-ranked Whitman the league's automatic berth in the NCAA Division III national championship.

Earlier this season (March 3) the Wildcats had hosted the Blues in a regular-season match and ran away with an 8-1 win.

Sunday at that same Linfield Tennis Center was different story right from the start.

Back in March the Blues were swept in the doubles matches, but this time around they broke in front quickly with an 8-3 win at 1-doubles by Hanna Greenberg and Andrea Gu.

This match, too, was a rematch of sorts as the Whitman tandem and opposing duo from Linfield, Ella Riddle and Basia Kopecka, had squared off for the ITA Northwest Fall Regional doubles title in late September on the Blues' home courts. Greenberg and Gu outlasted the Wildcats pairing to win the regional title and earn ITA All-American honors.

Sunday's win was quicker and got Whitman off on the right foot.

Though Linfield evened things up with a doubles win at No.3, Mary Hill and Lori Sheng helped in the re-writing of that earlier March script by also winning their doubles match, taking a taut 9-8 decision in a thrilling 10-8 tiebreaker at No. 2.

Riddle, the conference player of the year, bounced back in singles action to take her bout against Hill at 1-singles, and pull the home Wildcats back even at 2-2 in the match.

Riding a high off her doubles win, perhaps, Greenberg battled to win her opening set, 7-5, at No. 4 against Riley Clayeux then poured it on in a 6-3 second-set triumph that lifted the Blues to a 3-2 lead.

No. 25 rankings don't come one's way as just a gift, though, as Linfield played tough and once again pulled even, taking a point at 3-singles to forge a 3-3 tie.

Kattie Pak had won her opening set, 7-5, at No. 6 for Whitman, as had Gu at No. 2 by the same score. As well, Anastasiya Redkina took her opening set, 6-3, in the No. 5 singles spot to put Whitman up a set in the remaining three matches while needing just two of those points for the match victory.

With the championship on the line it was Pak who finished first, with a resounding 6-2 second-set win, and then Gu who pounded out a 6-4 win in her second to hand the Blues those final two points and clinch the match.

Whitman entered the 2018 NWC tournament as the second seed and on Saturday defeated third-seeded Lewis & Clark College (5-1) to advance into the Sunday championship final. Last season saw the same circumstances leading up to Sunday's post-match déjà vu.

Now the Blues await word as to where they play next in the regional round of the NCAA tournament.