Whitman's Lawless Again Nets Women's Weekly Tennis Award

WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- Courtney Lawless, a first-year player on the Whitman College women's tennis team, has been named Northwest Conference Student Athlete of the Week award for the second time in two weeks.

Courtney Lawless

Lawless led Whitman to a pair of NWC road victories last weekend, winning twice at No. 1 singles and twice at No. 1 doubles. She rolled through her matches while losing just two games in singles and one in doubles.

The victories extended her NWC record at No. 1 singles to 4-0. All four of those wins have come on the road.

Lawless and her teammates, now 4-2 on the season and 3-1 in the NWC, host their home opener at 4 p.m. Friday against Pacific in the Bratton Tennis Center. The Boxers are 4-1 overall and 3-1 in conference.

The Whitman women host two more NWC matches on Friday and Saturday, March 9-10, against Lewis & Clark and George Fox.

Lawless, who began the season with a No. 19 West Region ranking in singles, captured her first NWC award two weeks ago after winning three times at No. 1 singles in three days.

Those victories included a 6-4, 6-1 win over Linfield's Abby Olbrich, who has a No. 4 regional ranking, and a 7-5, 6-2 triumph over No. 18 Laina Matsuda of the University of La Verne. She also rolled to a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Willamette's Shannon Palmer, who holds a No. 21 regional ranking.

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CONTACT: Dave Holden
Sports Information Director
Whitman College, Walla Walla, Wash.
509 527-5902; holden@whitman.edu