Men's Tennis Jumps to No. 1 in West Region Rankings

WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- The Whitman College men's tennis team has jumped to No. 1 in the West Region rankings for the first time in the tenure of veteran coach Jeff Northam.

Whitman, which held a No. 7 regional ranking to start the season, rose to the top spot when the Intercollegiate Tennis Association updated its NCAA Division III regional rankings for the first time on Thursday.

Jeff Northam

Whitman, 14-3 on the season, is No. 1 in the highly competitive region with UC-Santa Cruz ranked No. 2 and Cal Lutheran at No. 3. Trinity (Texas) followed by Pomona-Pitzer round out the top five.

Regional rankings in singles and doubles were also updated on Thursday.

Sophomore Andrew La Cava is No. 3 in singles while junior Jeff Tolman is No. 12 and senior Conor Holton-Burke No. 18. In doubles, Tolman and La Cava are No. 9 while Holton-Burke and junior Matt Tesmond are No. 10.

In updated national rankings released Thursday, Whitman stayed in the No. 8 spot it first occupied two weeks ago.

Whitman, in California this weekend on a Spring Break trip, plays two nationally ranked teams in the next two days. It faces No. 17 Whittier on Saturday followed by No. 19 Trinity (Connecticut) on Sunday.

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