Junior Leslie Whitten and sophomore Elly Shook registered the strongest performances for the Whitman women in the Pacific Northwest Small College Championships, which were held Oct. 2-4 in the Bratton Tennis Center. Both players lost close matches in the quarterfinals of the singles competition, and as a doubles team they dropped a narrow decision in the semifinals against a team that later won the doubles title.
In the doubles competition, Whitten and Shook fell 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals to Rebecca Ainsworth and Natasha Lloyd of Lewis-Clark State College. Ainsworth and Lloyd were easy winners in the title match against a team from Pacific Lutheran University.
In singles play, Whitten lost 7-6, 6-1 to Lloyd in the quarterfinals. Shook dropped her quarterfinal match to Ainsworth in three sets, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.
In other singles action, Whitman's Monica Hilmer defeated teammate Laura Bentley in three sets in the first round, took a bye in the second round, and then lost in the quarterfinals. Also winning first-round matches for Whitman were Selima Serna, Joanna Cutler and Tamiko Shiery. Anna Beattie claimed her first-round match by default.
In the singles consolation bracket, Bentley advanced to the semifinals before losing. Shiery and Cutler were eliminated in the quarterfinals.
Bentley and Beattie gave Whitman another victory in the first round of doubles play, defeating two of their teammates, Thiery and Serna. As a doubles team, Hilmer and Sarah McKinstry were eliminated in the second round after advancing by default.
In the doubles consolation bracket, Hilmer and McKinstry claimed the title by defeating Tamako Hara and Teresa Matsumoto of Willamette University, 8-4.
The Whitman women kicked off their season with an easy win over Seattle University Friday afternoon in Seattle.
The Whitman win was decisive. In seven victories the Missionaries didn't drop a single set and were kept from a clean sweep only by two very narrow defeats. Joanna Cutler lost a tight match at No. 3 singles 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 while Whitman's other loss came at No. 3 doubles where Monica Hilmer and Anna Beattie lost 8-6.
Singles
Doubles
No. 1 -- Whitten/Fong (WM) def. Ayakawa: 8-2
No. 2 -- Cutler/Kramer (WM) def. Lee/Ewert: 8-4
No. 3 -- Augustine/Ky (SU) def. Hilmer/AnnBeattie: 8-6
In their second match of the season, the Whitman women came away with an easy win against the University of Puget Sound Saturday morning in Tacoma, Wash. With the exception of one match, Whitman failed to lose a set to the Loggers.
Hillary Sabeck was the sole winner for UPS. She outlasted Whitman freshman Monica Hilmer in a three-set No. 5 singles match that included two tie-breakers.
Whitman cruised in the other matches. UPS failed to win more than three games in all but one of the other sets.
Singles
Doubles
No. 1 -- Whitman/Fong (WM) def. Porter/Smith: 8-4
No. 2 -- Cutler/Kramer (WM) def. Sabeck/Jones: 8-1
No. 3 -- Hilmer/Beattie (WM) def. Larson/Fussilo: 8-3
Playing their second match Saturday, the Whitman women fell to Pacific Lutheran by a 5-4 count on a tough day for tennis in Tacoma. Players battled against 40 mph winds and 35 degree weather in taking on one of the toughest teams in the conference.
With all but one singles match going to three sets, the overall outcome was very close. Whitman earned team points in singles play at No. 1, 2 and 4, as well as in the No. 1 doubles match.
One of the tighter matches of the day came at No. 3 doubles. Whitman's Monica Hilmer and Anna Beattie lost a 9-7 decision in an eight-game pro-set.
"I'm very optimistic about out chances in the conference this season," coach Jayne McCarthy said after the match. "We were so close in so many matches, it could easily have gone the other way."
Singles
Doubles
No. 1 -- Whitten/Fong (WM) def. Broderson/Freed: 8-2
No. 2 -- Kowalski/Tibbling (PLU) def. Cutler/Kramer: 8-3
No. 3 -- Cusack/McQuaig (PLU) def. Hilmer/Beattie: 9-7
The Whitman women blew past the University of Calgary Monday afternoon in the Bratton Tennis Center. Whitman lost one singles and one doubles match on its way to an easy win.
"The women really looked good today," said coach Jayne McCarthy. "They rose to the challenge in their first home match of the season."
Amy Fong at No. 2, Selima Serna at No. 5 and Anna Beattie at No. 6 singles all won their matches in straight sets. Joanna Cutler and Monica Hilmer, playing at No. 3 and No. 5 respectively, required three sets to down their opponents.
Whitman also earned points at No. 1 doubles as Leslie Whitten and Fong won 8-3 and Sarah McKinstry and Cutler won 8-2 at No. 3 doubles.
Singles
Doubles
No. 1 -- Whitten/Fong (WM) def. Leung/McLean: 8-3
No. 2 -- Bekze/Reynaud (U of C) def. Hilmer/Beattie: 8-4
No. 3 -- Cutler/McKinstry (WM) def. Kozlowski/Pyc: 8-2
The Whitman women notched an important victory Friday morning in the Bratton Tennis Center, knocking off the University of California-Santa Cruz, the fifth-ranked team in the west region of NCAA Div. III.
"Leslie and Amy gave us big wins at one and two singles," coach Jayne McCarthy said. "Monica Hilmer and Selima Serna also came up big for us at five and six."
Whitten, Fong and Serna all won their first sets in tie-breakers before cruising to victory in the second sets. Hilmer pulled out the victory at No. 5 singles when she won a third set tie-breaker 7-4.
"This was the team to beat for us," McCarthy added. "Pulling off a win like this shows we have the talent to play with just about anybody."
Singles
Doubles
No. 1 -- Whitten/Fong (WM) def. Zajfen/Brogan: 8-5
No. 2 -- Buckley/Lai (UCSC) def. Cutler/Kramer: 8-5
No. 3 -- Hilmer/Beattie (WM) def. Allen/Miller: 8-6
Whitman stormed past visiting Whitworth 9-0 Saturday without losing a single set. The 9-0 victory extends Whitman's Northwest Conference dual match record to 14-2 over the past two seasons.
Only two sets were close. After winning her first set 6-0, Leslie Whitten took the second set 7-5 at No. 1 singles. At No. 2 singles, Amy Fong shared the same scores but in different order, winning first set 7-5 before posting the 6-0 shutout 6-0 in the second.
Singles
Doubles
No. 1 -- Whitten/Fong (WM) def. Staudinger/Benscheidt: 8-5
No. 2 -- Cutler/Kramer (WM) def. Austin/Walters: 8-6
No. 3 -- McKinstry/Beattie (WM) def. Norman/Nelson: 8-2
In their second match of the day, the Whitman women dropped an 8-1 non-conference decision to visiting Lewis-Clark State College, an NAIA tennis powerhouse.
Anna Beattie and Monica Hilmer posted Whitman's only win of the day, taking a 9-8 squeaker in the No. 3 doubles match.
A number of other matches were close, however. Hilmer in the No. 5 singles match and Amy Fong in the No. 2 singles match both lost in three sets, in each case dropping the third set by 6-4 scores. Joanna Cutler in No. 3 singles also lost her first set in the No. 3 singles match on a tie-breaker.
Singles
Doubles
No. 1 -- Ainsworth/Musamba (LC) def. Whitten/Fong: 8-0
No. 2 -- Lloyd/Specht (LC) def. Cutler/Kramer: 8-5
No. 3 -- Hilmer/Beattie (WM) def. Nel/Johnson: 9-8
For the second time in a month, Pacific Lutheran University handed the Whitman women a 5-4 Northwest Conference defeat. Played at Whitman, the match turned on doubles play, where PLU won two of three matches to pick up the victory.
Leslie Whitten, Amy Fong and Monica Hilmer notched victories in singles for the Missionaries. Whitten rebounded from a first set loss in No. 1 singles to win her match in three sets.
Whitten and Fong also joined forces to win their No. 1 doubles match.
Singles
Doubles
No. 1 -- Whitten/Fong (WM) def. Broderson/Freed: 8-4
No. 2 -- Kowalski/Tibbling (PLU) def. Cutler/Kramer: 8-2
No. 3 -- Cusack/Ruud (PLU) def. Hilmer/Anna Beattie: 8-3
Playing their first match of the day in the Bratton Tennis Center, the Whitman women won four of six matches in singles and two of three in doubles to post a 6-3 triumph over Seattle University.
Leslie Whitten, Amy Fong and Selima Serna were straight-set winners in singles for the Missionaries, while Joanna Cutler needed three sets to register her victory in No. 3 singles.
Whitten and Fong continued to win in No. 1 doubles, and Monica Hilmer and Anna Beattie pitched an 8-0 shutout in No. 3 doubles.
Singles
Doubles
No. 1 -- Whitten/Fong (WM) def. Ewert/Fry: 8-2
No. 2 -- Lee/Ayakawa (SU) def. Cutler/Kramer: 8-4
No. 3 -- Hilmer/Anna Beattie (WM) def. Augustine/Ky: 8-0
Playing their second match of the day in the Bratton Tennis Center, the Whitman women handed the University of Puget Sound an 8-1 Northwest Conference defeat. The Missionaries downed UPS by the same score last month in Tacoma, Wash.
Whitman raised its season record to 7-3 and its conference record to 5-2. The Missionaries are now 16-3 in conference matches dating back to the start of last season.
Leslie Whitten won her third match of the weekend in No. 1 singles to elevate her record to 7-0 in conference and 8-2 on the season.
Whitten and Amy Fong sailed to an easy victory in No. 1 doubles, raising their record to 7-0 in conference and 9-1 overall. Fong did not play singles against Puget Sound, although her two victories in No. 2 singles earlier in the weekend upped her record to 6-0 in conference, 8-1 overall.
Alexis Kramer, Monica Hilmer, Selima Serna and Sarah McKinsty also notches victories in singles play against Puget Sound. Cutler and Kramer, along with Hilmer and Anna Beattie, rang up victories in the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles matches.
Singles
Doubles
No. 1 -- Whitman/Fong (WM) def. Porter/Hiramoto: 8-1
No. 2 -- Cutler/Kramer (WM) def. Schenk/Kelly Enright: 8-4
No. 3 -- Hilmer/Anna Beattie (WM) def. Larson/Fussilo: 8-1
One day after rain washed away a scheduled match against the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps colleges, the Whitman women opened their Spring Break swing through California with a 7-2 victory Tuesday over California Lutheran University. Whitman improved its season record to 8-3 while Cal-Lutheran dropped to 8-5.
Whitman won all six singles matches, losing only one set in the process. Leslie Whitten and Amy Fong, who chalked up victories in the No. 1 and No. 2 singles matches, also added a victory in No. 1 doubles, improving their season record in doubles to 10-1.
Other winners in singles play for Whitman were Joanna Cutler, Alexis Kramer, Monica Hilmer and Selima Serna.
Singles
Doubles
No. 1 -- Whitten/Fong (WM) def. Dochtorowicz/Jill Embree: 8-2
No. 2 -- Benson/Szabo (CLU) def. Cutler/Kramer: 8-3
No. 3 -- Lawson/Stoltenberg (CLU) def. Hilmer/Anna Beattie:
8-6
The University of Redlands handed Whitman a 6-3 non-conference defeat Wednesday as the Missionaries continued their week-long swing through California.
Whitman registered a pair of victories in singles as well as a triumph in the No. 1 doubles match. Amy Fong and Leslie Whitten, the two-time defending Northwest Conference doubles champions, notched the victory in doubles on Wednesday, extending their season record to 11-1. Fong also was a winner in No. 2 singles.
Monica Hilmer in No. 5 singles posted Whitman's other victory.
Singles
Doubles
No. 1 -- Whitten/Fong (WM) def. Josselyn/Chester: 8-6
No. 2 -- Everly/Gorey (UR) def. Cutler/Kramer: 8-6
No. 3 -- Lindoerfer/Spence (UR) def. Hilmer/Anna Beattie: 8-5
Leslie Whitten, last week's Northwest Conference women's tennis player of the week, led Whitman to a 6-3 non-conference victory at Point Loma University Thursday in San Diego. The triumph gave the Missionaries two victories in the three matches during a Spring Break swing through the state of California. One other scheduled match was rained out.
Whitten keyed Thursday's win with a victory in No. 1 singles, raising her season record to 9-2 in the top singles slot. She also holds a 2-0 season record in No. 2 singles.
Whitten and Amy Fong combined for a victory in No. 1 doubles, which raised their season record to 12-1.
Other winners in singles for the Missionaries were Alexis Kramer, Monica Hilmer and Selima Serna. Hilmer also teamed with Anna Beattie to win in No. 3 doubles.
Singles
Doubles
No. 1 -- Whitten/Fong (WM) def. Duffin/Kinard: 8-6
No. 2 -- Champion/Austin (PL) def. Cutler/Kramer: 9-7
No. 3 -- Hilmer/Anna Beattie (WM) def. Pigot-Ayers: 8-1
Whitman dropped just one singles and one doubles match on the day on its way to an easy win over Willamette Friday afternoon in Bratton.
Junior Amy Fong cruised to a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 2 singles and picked up the win in No. 1 doubles with partner Leslie Whitten.
Joanna Cutler, Alexis Kramer and Selima Serna added straight-set wins for Whitman in singles play. Freshman Monica Hilmer needed three sets to notch her win in singles. After splitting the first two sets, Hilmer and opponent Amy Rayburn opted to play a tie-breaker for third set. Hilmer won 7-4.
Singles
Doubles
No. 1 -- Whitten/Fong (WM) def. Masumoto/Bokovoy: 8-6
No. 2 -- Cutler/Kramer (WM) def. Hara/Rayburn: 8-5
No. 3 -- Hatfield/Hunt (Will) def. Hilmer/Anna Beattie: 8-4
Dominating the doubles play and splitting the singles action, Whitman posted a 6-3 Northwest Conference victory over Linfield Saturday afternoon on the Missionary outdoor courts.
Winners in singles for Whitman were Leslie Whitten, Amy Fong and Alexis Kramer. Both Whitten in the No. 1 slot and Kramer in the No. 4 match rebounded from first-set losses to win in three sets.
Of Whitman's three victorious teams in doubles, Anna Beattie and Sarah McKinstry had to work the hardest in the No. 3 spot. They needed an 8-6 tie-breaker to take a 9-8 pro-set triumph.
Singles
Doubles
No. 1 -- Whitten/Fong (WM) def. Woodruff/Kobata: 8-2
No. 2 -- Cutler/Kramer (WM) def. Okumoto/Kannan: 8-5
No. 3 -- Sarah McKinstry/Anna Beattie (WM) def. Vaughan/Worzniak:
9-8 (8-6)
The top two singles matches were high competitive, with each school taking a three-set victory, but visiting Whitman triumphed in most of the other matches to take a 6-3 Northwest Conference victory from Lewis & Clark Friday afternoon in Portland, Oregon.
In No. 1 singles, Whitman's Leslie Whitten rebouned from an opening set loss to win the second set on an 8-6 tie-breaker. Whitten then closed out the victory with a 6-3 win in the third set.
Lewis & Clark's Joy Leising outdueled Whitman's Amy Fong in the No. 2 singles match by winning the first and third sets. The Missionaries won three of the four other singles matches, however, thanks to Alexis Kramer, Monica Hilmer and Selima Serna.
Whitten and Fong won again in No. 1 doubles, running their record against conference opponents to 10-0. Kramer and Joanna Cutler added a victory in No. 2 doubles.
Singles
Doubles
No. 1 -- Whitten/Fong (WM) def. Budtz/Leising: 8-1
No. 2 -- Cutler/Kramer (WM) def. Goodman/Duarte: 8-4
No. 3 -- Rager/Miller (LC) def. Sarah McKinstry/Anna Beattie:
8-5
Apart from Leslie Whitten's three-set victory in No. 1 singles, there was little drama as Whitman blanked George Fox 9-0 Saturday in Newberg, Oregon.
After losing 6-1 to Whitten in their first set, George Fox's Shawna Hughes bounced back for a 6-1 win in the second set. Whitten took the match with a 6-2 victory in the third set, however.
As it turns out, Hughes was the only Bruin to win a set all day.
Singles
Doubles
No. 1 -- Whitten/Fong (WM) def. Hughes/McComb: 8-1
No. 2 -- Anna Beattie/Sarah McKinstry (WM) def. Reimer/Sexton:
8-3
No. 3 -- Serna/Tamiko Shiery (WM) def. Chrisman/Granlund: 8-3
Whitman shut out Pacific 9-0 Saturday in Forest Grove, Oregon, putting the finishing touches on one of the best seasons in the history of Missionary women's tennis.
The Missionaries ended the regular season with records of 10-2 in conference and 14-4 on the season. Over the past two season the Whitman women have won 21 of 24 conference matches. Each of their three conference losses during that span came by a single team point.
Whitman's Leslie Whitten and Amy Fong were easy winners in No. 1 singles on Saturday, finishing their regular season with a perfect 12-0 mark against conference opponents. They were 17-1 on the season, losing only to a duo from NAIA Div. I Lewis-Clark State College.
Whitten won again Saturday in No. 1 singles, extending her singles records to 11-1 in conference and 13-3 on the season.
Fong also capped a strong season in No. 2 singles with a final victory. She finished her season with records of 10-2 in conference and 12-3 overall.
Singles
Doubles
No. 1 -- Whitten/Fong (WM) def. Asuncion/Nakashima: 8-2
No. 2 -- Cutler/Kramer (WM) def. Daniels/Calloway: 8-2
No. 3 -- Anna Beattie/Sarah McKinstry (WM) def. LaMarche/Cori
Gono: 8-2
A heartbreakingly close 5-4 loss to Linfield in the semifinals deprived the Whitman women of a shot at the Northwest Conference title Saturday, but the Missionaries were well represented when end-of-the season honors were announced at the close of the two-day championship tournament in the Seattle area.
Leslie Whitten and Amy Fong, Whitman's No. 1 doubles team, completed a perfect conference season with three more victories in the tournament, and the two Missionary juniors were named to the all-conference team for a third consecutive year. Whitten, who also played No. 1 singles during the season, was also named conference Player of the Year in a vote of the coaches.
And Whitman coach Jayne McCarthy, who led the Missionaries to one of their best seasons ever, won Coach of the Year honors for the fourth time in her 13 seasons.
McCarthy wasn't surprised to see Whitten named Player of the Year, even though Pacific Lutheran captured the regular season title and then took top honors in the conference championship tournament. "It's a terrific honor for Leslie," McCarthy said. "She has definitely earned the respect of the other coaches in the conference. She's a smart, talented player who has worked very hard to develop a real depth to her game."
Whitman, which compiled dual meet records of 10-2 in conference and 14-4 overall during the regular season, opened the tournament Friday with a 7-2 victory over Willamette at the Bally's Pacific West Fitness Center in Federal Way, Wash.
In the semifinals Saturday morning at the University of Puget Sound indoor courts, Whitman faced Linfield, a team it had beaten 6-3 during the regular season. In the rematch, the two teams split the six matches in singles, leaving the outcome to be settled by the three matches in doubles. Whitten and Fong kept their perfect season alive with an 8-2 victory in the No. 1 doubles match, but Linfield pulled out the team victory by winning a couple of close matches in No. 2 and No. 3 doubles.
"For us, it was heartbreaking," McCarthy said. "A lot of the matches with Linfield were very, very close. They have a very good, solid team."
Winners for Whitman in singles play against Linfield were Whitten at No. 1, Fong at No. 2 and Monica Hilmer at No. 5. "Joanna Cutler and Alexis Kramer also played very good matches for us at No. 3 and No. 4 against opponents who probably have stronger overall games," McCarthy added. "Both Joanna and Alexis lost in two sets, but the matches were more competitive than the scores show. I'm very proud of both of them."
In Saturday afternoon's final round of matches, Linfield dropped a 6-3 decison to Pacific Lutheran in the title match, while Whitman whipped Lewis & Clark 7-2 (at the UPS courts) in the battle for third and fourth place.
"We were disappointed that we didn't get by Linfield and get the opportunity to play PLU for the championship," McCarthy said. "But Linfield has a lot of talent and they played a good match against us. It was tough loss, but our players know they had a great season."
Before losing to Linfield, Whitman's only losses in conference action this season were a pair of 5-4 decisions to PLU. Over the past two regular seasons, the Missionaries compiled a 21-3 record against conference opponents.
By winning their three doubles matches in the tournament, Whitten and Fong stretched their conference winning streak over the past two years to 23 straight victories. They finished this season with records of 15-0 in conference and 20-1 on the season.
In their three seasons at Whitman, Whitten and Fong are now 37-6 in doubles play against conference opponents.
Playing No. 1 singles, Whitten won two of her three matches during last weekend's tournament. She finished her season with records of 13-2 in conference and 15-4 overall.
Playing No. 2 singles, Fong also won two of three matches during the tournament, raising her record to 12-3 in conference and 14-4 overall. Fong's only loss last weekend was an 8-5 decision in a pro-set format in the Lewis & Clark match for third and fourth place. With Whitman having already scored seven team points to clinch the victory, the two teams decided to limit the No. 2 and No. 3 singles matches to one pro set each.
Doubles
No. 1 -- Whitten/Fong (WM) def. Masumoto/Bokovoy: 8-0
No. 2 -- Cutler/Kramer (WM) def. Hara/Rayburn: 8-3
No. 3 -- Anna Beattie/Sarah McKinstry (WM) def. Hatfield/Hunt: 8-3
Doubles
No. 1 -- Whitten/Fong (WM) def. Woodruff/Kobata: 8-2
No. 2 -- Okumoto/Kannan (LN) def. Cutler/Kramer: 8-5
No. 3 -- Vaughn/Sarah Savage (LN) def. Sarah McKinstry/Anna Beattie: 8-6
Doubles
No. 1 -- Whitten/Fong (WM) def. Budtz/Leising: 8-4
No. 2 -- Cutler/Kramer (WM) def. Goodman/Duarte: 8-4
No. 3 -- Sarah McKinstry/Anna Beattie (WM) def Miller/Rager: 8-2