SALEM, Ore. – The Linfield women's tennis team won their sixth straight match on Saturday, dismantling the Willamette Bearcats 9-0 and losing just a mere five games throughout the course of competition.
It was Linfield's third straight 9-0 win, improving the Wildcats to 7-2 with a 3-0 record in Northwest Conference action and 4-2 on the road.
Willamette fell to 0-4 and 0-3 in conference play.
The win was more of the same for the Wildcats, who are now a combined 25-2 in both singles and doubles flights against NWC opponents this season.
DOUBLES
Linfield hit the ground running Saturday morning with all three wins in doubles play coming in perfect 8-0 victories. The Wildcats dominated even with head coach Ella Maliska-Riddle shaking things up, experimenting with three new doubles pairings.
In the No. 1 flight it was
Taryn Fujimori and
Lexie Matsunaga beating Willamette's Richelle Suzuki and Anika Groener, while
Maggie Fiocchi and
Allena Wong handled Camille Gibney and Ruby Blake in the second doubles contest.
Linfield improved to 3-0 on the day with
Sarah Forester and
Emma Tuttle defeating Ruby Thompson and Allison McIntyre in the No. 3 flight.
SINGLES
Fujimori opened singles play for the 'Cats by coasting to a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Suzuki to improve to 3-1 on the year while playing as Linfield's top singles seed.
The No. 2 singles flight, featuring Matsunaga against Groener, was technically the closest of the day, but still saw Matsunaga win comfortably 6-1, 6-1, clinching the win for Linfield by making the match score 5-0.
Matsunaga has now won six straight singles flights to accumulate a 7-2 record on the season.
Forester won her seventh straight flight in singles play in the No. 3 flight, a team best streak to improve her singles record to a team-best 7-1, with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Gibney. Gibney's two wins in the opening set was the only set of the entire match that saw Willamette win multiple games.
In the No. 4 flight Tuttle had her first perfect win of her career, blanking Blake 6-0, 6-0. The freshman is unbeaten in singles action so far, going 4-0 on the season.
In the fifth singles flight Fiocchi also won with almost no resistance, knocking off Thompson 6-0, 6-0 to improve to 6-2 in singles.
The match completed with freshman
Alexis Garner, making her NWC debut and competing for the first time since February 19, putting together an impressive 6-1, 6-0 win over McIntyre, setting the match final at 9-0, Linfield.
NEXT
The Wildcats will look to keep things rolling Sunday in McMinnville as they play host to the George Fox Bruins (10-6, 5-2).
Next weekend they'll hit the road for eastern Washington to play the Whitman Blues (9-4, 3-0) on April 9 and the Whitworth Pirates (5-6, 3-1) on April 10.
