WALLA WALLA, Wash. – The Whitman College women's tennis team opened Northwest Conference play in dominant fashion, rolling past visiting Whitworth 5-2 on Saturday afternoon at the Bratton Tennis Center.
The Blues set the tone in doubles, taking two of three courts for the early lead. At the top spot, the duo of Renata Rosell and Nana Vang powered to a 6-1 win over Paige Oliver and Jordan Turner-Esposito, while at No. 3, Julia Longpre and Jules Thompson closed out a 6-4 victory against Audrey Judson and Olivia Corbett. Whitworth's lone doubles point came at No. 2, where Faith Kert and Josie Kellogg edged Sascha Wells and Gloria Lau 6-4.
Whitman then took control in singles with convincing wins in the top half of the lineup. Vang backed up her doubles performance with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Oliver at No. 1, and Rosell was equally sharp on court two, dispatching Kert 6-2, 6-2 to push the Blues closer to the team win. Wells made it 3-for-3 for Whitman's top trio, cruising past Turner-Esposito 6-0, 6-3 on court three.
Bailey Bell sealed the match with a straight-set win at No. 5, taking down Corbett 6-4, 6-3 to secure Whitman's fifth point of the afternoon. Whitworth's resistance came in the bottom half, where Judson outlasted Longpre 6-2, 7-6 (7-1) at No. 4 and Kellogg claimed a 6-0, 7-6 (8-6) decision over Michelle Deng at No. 6.
With the victory, Whitman moves to 1-1 on the young season and 1-0 in Northwest Conference play, while Whitworth drops to 0-2 and 0-1 in NWC play.
Whitman will have a quick turnaround before heading to Lewiston to play Lewis-Clark State College on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
#GoWhitman
