Men's Tennis Blanks Pirates, Advances to Tournament Final

News Release Date:
Saturday, April 21

WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- There were no surprises as the Whitman College men's tennis juggernaut rushed past Whitworth 5-0 on Saturday in the the first of two Northwest Conference tournament semifinal matches on Whitman's outdoor courts.

Whitman, No. 8 in the NCAA Division III national ranks, improved to 20-4 on the season while advancing to Sunday's tournament finale, the winner of which gets the NWC's automatic berth in the national championship field.

Whitworth, the No. 4 seed in the four-team tournament, ended its season with an 11-9 record.

Conor Holton-Burke

Whitman, reaching 20 wins for the fifth time in six years, jumped on Whitworth in the opening round of doubles, winning all three matches for a 3-0 lead.

James Rivers made it 4-0 Whitman with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Dustin McConnell at No. 4 singles, setting the stage for Jeff Tolman to notch the clinching fifth team point at No. 2 singles.

After Tolman outlasted Cameron Williams 6-4, 7-5 for that fifth team point, the remainder of matches in singles were left unfinished (or not started).

James Rivers

Whitman senior Conor Holton-Burke was within a few points of finishing his match at No. 3 singles, although opponent Micah Spaun was also within a few points of sending their match to a third set.

After Holton-Burke won the first set 6-2, the second set was dead even at six games apiece with the tie-breaker knotted at 4-4.

In the featured match at No. 1 singles, Whitman's Andrew La Cava held a 7-6 (7-0), 2-1 lead over Daniel Redfern when play was stopped.

The other match in progress was at No. 5 singles, where Whitman's Sam Sadeghi and Whitworth's Ben Hamming were starting their second second after Sadeghi took the opener 6-2.

The match at No. 6 singles between Adriel Borshansky (Whitman) and Chris Englemann (Whitworth) did not start.

In the opening round of doubles,Tolman and La Cava pitched an 8-0 shutout at No. 2, beating Hamming and his Whitworth teammate, Stefan Dernbach .

Sadeghi and Rivers also rolled to a quick 8-3 victory at No. 3 doubles, downing McConnell and Englemann.

Holton-Burke and Matt Tesmond completed Whitman's sweep in doubles with an 8-2 win over Redfern and Spaun in the No. 1 slot.

Saturday's other semifinal, slated to start at 2 p.m., pits second-seeded Pacific (13-5) against third-seeded George Fox (10-7). The winner of that match plays Whitman at 11 a.m. Sunday for a ticket to the national tournament.

- 30 -

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