WALLA WALLA, Wash.  In their final tune-up before learning of their NCAA Division III Regional fate, Whitman went out of league and welcomed Lewis-Clark State College to town at the Whitman Outdoor Tennis Courts Friday afternoon.  Right about the time the shadows rolled in and the wind picked up, the 27th-ranked Blues ran the Warriors out of town and picked up the 7-2 victory.

Fresh off their Northwest Conference championship last weekend, Whitman faced some challenges getting started, even falling behind at 1-doubles, before eventually finding their groove and earning the doubles sweep.

The Blues jumped out to an early advantage as the No. 3 pair of Anastasiya Redkina and Kattie Pak was the first on the board to give the Blues the early advantage. Redkina and Pak jumped out to a 4-2 lead and stayed ahead the entire time, eventually winning 8-4.

It appeared that the No. 2 pair of Mary Hill and Lori Sheng was going to cruise to victory as they were up 6-1 out of the gate, highlighted by Hill's impressive rally in game six. After Hill lobbed a shot over the head and back to the net, Mary raced to the net and dropped the return just over the net to secure the point and the game.

However, the Warriors would not go down without a fight, as they rallied back to win three straight games and draw the score to 6-4. But the Blues would manage to hold-serve, coming from behind in their final game to win 8-5.

The win did not come as easy to the Blues top pair of Hanna Greenberg and Andrea Gu, as the duo trailed the Warriors top pair much of the way, even trailing 4-5. But the Blues finally came around late, winning five of the final six games, including an ace by Greenburg to earn the Blues the clean sweep and provide an early 3-0 lead.

In singles, the Warriors got on the board first with a win on court 3. Stephanie Buckingham had Sheng on her heels the entire time, and Lori simply could not have an answer, falling in straight sets 6-1, 6-1.

Whitman would answer right back, as Laura Diaz was simply no match for Redkina, who was in control the entire way and picked up the 6-0,6-2 victory to put the Blues ahead 4-1.

The Blues continued its winning ways as Gu helped extend Whitman's lead in dominant fashion herself, defeating her opponent Andrew Begona 6-1, 6-0.

With the victory already secured, attention then turned to the matchup at 4-singles, as Laura Rosselli from Lewis-Clark State simply was one step ahead of Greenberg, and ended up defeating the Whitman senior in straight sets 6-1, 6-1.

Whitman would also pick up wins on court one and court six to complete the 7-2 victory, as both Hill and Jenna Gilbert would pick up victories, with Hill winning 6-4, 6-3 while Gilbert defeated Sophie Uhlenkott 6-1, 6-4.  

Now the Blues wait patiently to learn of their postseason fate on Monday, May 7th. The first three rounds of the NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Tournament begin May 10th.