The Linfield men's tennis team ended the fall portion of the 2022-23 season with a highly successful performance at the ITA Northwest Regional Championship Tournament this past weekend in Vancouver, Washington.
 
This year's tournament iteration, hosted by Lewis & Clark College, saw the singles bracket split into two separate competitions with an "A" Draw and a "B" Draw. In the "A" draw, sophomore Rogue Stone played a tight first-round match before succumbing to Whitman transfer Diego Guzman by the score of 5-7, 7-6, 10-5. However, while falling short in his attempt to qualify for the "A" Draw, freshman Brooks Lerfald continued the hot start to his college career by winning his next two matches against Lewis & Clark's Landon Cronin (by default), and Whitman's Christopher O'Farrell, 6-2, 6-2, to claim the "A" Draw qualifying consolation championship.
 
The "B" Draw was where the Wildcats achieved their greatest degree of success. Linfield players Matous Young and Nick Gabelman each won their respective first-round matches in the "B" Draw, as both won in three sets over players from Willamette and Pacific Lutheran, respectively. The best run of matches on the team came from freshman Alexander Rosenquist, who not only claimed his first career collegiate victory against Dillon Wells from Pacific Lutheran but then went on to reach the semifinals of the "B" Draw by winning two more matches over Bennet Gazor of Lewis & Clark and Bernardo Savitt from Whitman. 
 
Wildcats freshman Wyatt Zagyva secured his first two collegiate victories, including a win on Championship Sunday, to earn the title in the "B" Draw qualifying consolation bracket.
 
"It was awesome to see how these guys come together in such a short time," said interim assistant coach Alex Martin. "The way they cheered for each other and represented the program was so fun to watch. The team-first atmosphere was never more apparent than with the eruption of cheering that happened when Wyatt won his first collegiate match. It was a really cool, and well-deserved moment for a freshman who has had an immediate positive impact on the program."
 
However, it was on the doubles court, where the team showed the most improvement from last week's preparation tournament. With a renewed focus on doubles, the Wildcats came out and posted main draw wins by two of their four teams. The team of Rogue Stone and Alexander Rosenquist defeated the team of Chio and Dos Santos from Lewis & Clark (8-4). Additionally, the team of Lerfald and Blake Fuentes Gilbert defeated their first-round opponent from Puget Sound. 
 
"The doubles play was rewarding to see. The guys really worked hard this week on their doubles in preparation for this tournament and it showed," said Martin. "Each of the four doubles teams played solid, fundamental and high-percentage doubles. The improvement was remarkable."
 
NEXT
Linfield enters its winter hiatus and is expected to resume competition in mid-January.