WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- The Whitman College men's tennis team is off and running in pursuit of what could be its second Northwest Conference championship in three years.
The Missionaries, under veteran coach Jeff Northam, captured the 2004 conference title with a lineup laden with freshmen. With that same core group returning last spring, Whitman came ever so close to a second straight crown, falling 4-3 in the championship finale to Pacific Lutheran.
Northam has 16 players on this spring's roster, including four juniors and a sophomore who were key contributors a year ago. The Missionaries got an early jump on the 2006 season, playing three matches in little more than 26 hours in late January. Whitman opened with a loss to NAIA powerhouse Lewis-Clark State but then rebounded with victories over two NCAA Div. I foes, Gonzaga and the University of Idaho.
Pacific Lutheran, the defending NWC champ, remains the team to beat this season, Northam says. “They return a few of the top players in the country, and they begin the season ranked No. 9 nationally. I don’t remember when we had one of our conference teams ranked in the top 10 to start the season. Linfield is also returning some good players from last season.”
Northam isn’t throwing in the towel just yet, however. “I think we’re a little stronger and a little deeper than last year,” he says. “Our top five are all back, a year stronger and a year wiser.”
There are relatively few spots in the regular line-up still up for grabs. “One of the question marks is at No. 6 singles, but I was impressed to see one of our freshmen, Justin Hayashi, get a convincing win against a very good player in our match against Idaho,” Northam says. “And we have another freshman, Justin Shoolery, who is just starting to come into his own.”
Whitman kicks its campaign into high gear this weekend with fives matches in three days in the Portland, Ore., area. Northam plans to make use of his deep roster, playing single matches on Friday and Saturday and then three matches on Sunday. The Missionaries are slated for two matches at both Lewis & Clark and George Fox, a pair of NWC schools, and one match at NCAA Div. I University of Portland.
Steven Ly, perhaps the most skilled player in Whitman's strong junior class, is back to spearhead the top of the Missionary lineup. Ly, an All-NWC First-Team selection in each of his first two seasons, is off to a good start. Playing at No. 1 singles, he won two of three matches against tough competition during Whitman's recent opening weekend of action.
At No. 2 singles, junior Phalkun Mam also opened with victories in two of his first three matches. Mam earned NWC first-team honors as a freshman and made the second team last spring.
Ly and Mam also return as Whitman's No. 1 doubles team. They sailed through their opening weekend of doubles play, beating teams from both Gonzaga and Idaho.
Juniors Dane Miller and Robbie Munday, who fill the No. 3 and No. 4 slots in singles, are off to a 3-0 start as a formidable duo at No. 2 doubles. Miller earned NWC second-team honors in each of his first two seasons, while Munday made the All-NWC First Team as a freshman and the Second Team as a sophomore.
Adam Chemerinsky, a sophomore, is back in the No. 5 singles slot he occupied last spring as a freshman. He bolted to a good start in late January, whipping all three of his opponents in singles. “Adam is playing much better and with more confidence this year,” Northam says. “He’s going to have a great year.”
Chemerinsky and Hayashi made a less auspicious debut as a No. 3 doubles combo. They opened the season last month with three losses, although two of those setbacks came by narrow 9-7 scores.
Hayashi, who shared in a state high school doubles title while at Seattle's Lakeside School, played No. 6 singles in two of Whitman's first three matches, winning one and losing one. Sophomore Robert Edles-Rye also got into the late January mix, playing once at No. 6 singles.
The remainder of Whitman's roster includes senior Aaron Cho, junior Kenji Strait, sophomore
James Truitt and freshmen Reid Bennett, Andrew Knox, Aaron Lee, Ben Miller and Seth Zippel.
Unlike recent years, the NWC will play a full round-robin schedule this spring, which means each team is slated to play two matches against all other teams in the conference. The NWC title, however, will still be decided at the post-season tournament in late April at the Yakima (Wash.) Tennis Club.
Whitman begins the spring season with a No. 9 regional ranking in NCAA Div. III. Pacific Lutheran is ranked No. 4 while Linfield sits at No. 13.
The Missionaries will have ample opportunity to improve on their regional ranking during a Spring Break trip to California in mid-March. Over the course of six days, Whitman will play No. 1 University of California-Santa Cruz, No. 3 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, No. 4 Redlands, No. 6 Cal Lutheran and No. 8 Chapman.
Dave Holden, Whitman Sports Information
(509) 527-5902; holden@whitman.edu