News Release Date:
Friday, April 3
WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- A strong Whitman College start in doubles gave way to a Linfield College rally in singles as the Wildcats pulled out a 5-4 Northwest Conference women's tennis victory on Friday at the Bratton Tennis Center.
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| Divneet Kaur |
Linfield held tight to second to second place in the NWC, improving to 13-1 in conference and 15-3 overall. Third-place Whitman slipped to 12-3 and 13-6.
Whitman snared the early lead in doubles, winning two of three matches. The teams split a pair of 8-3 decision with Sallie Katter and Abby Olbrich winning for Linfield at No. 1 and Hadley DeBree and Emily Rolston doing the same for the home team at No. 3.
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| Elise Otto |
The difference came at No. 2 doubles, where Whitman's Katie Oost and Divneet Kaur bolted to a 3-0 lead and then took the final two games for an 8-6 triumph.
Kaur was first off the courts in singles, extending Whitman's lead to 3-1. Kaur won the last three games in the first set, winning 7-5, before rolling to a 6-2 victory in the second set.
The next two decisions in singles broke in Linfield's favor, pulling the Wildcats even at 3-3. Olbrich won 6-0, 6-4 at No. 2 while Sophie Larson came on strong at the end of both sets for a 7-5, 7-5 victory over Oost at No. 3.
Whitman regained the lead at 4-3 when Elise Otto posted a 6-0, 7-5 win over Katter at No. 1 singles. After Otto cruised to a 5-2 advantage in the second set, Katter captured three straight games before Whitman's No. 1 nailed down the victory.
With the No. 5 and No. 6 matches yet to be played, Whitman needed just one win to clinch the team victory, but Linfield's Sarah Click and Sarah Watanabe had other ideas. After Click evened the match at 4-4 with a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 5, Watanabe finished the Wildcat comeback with a 6-2, 6-3 triumph at No. 6.
Linfield is in Spokane, Wash., Saturday for a 10 a.m. match against first-place Whitworth. Whitman hosts Whitworth at 2 p.m. Sunday.
Linfield 5, Whitman 4: Match Scores
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CONTACT: Dave Holden
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