Linfield University Athletics

BEAVERTON, Ore. – The Linfield women's tennis team fell 7-0 Saturday evening to the Division-I Portland State Vikings in the Wildcats' season-opening dual match at the Vikings' home facility of Tualatin Hills Tennis Center.
 
The Wildcats (0-1), reigning champions of the Northwest Conference, entered the season ranked 34^th nationally and 8^th in the West Region in the most recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division-III rankings.
 
DOUBLES
Portland State immediately set the tone to open the match in doubles play, taking all three doubles matchups by significant margins.
 
Top Linfield duo Taryn Fujimori and Lexie Matsunaga fell in the No. 1 doubles match, 6-0, to Portland State's Makoto Ohara and Capu Sanoner while Emma Tuttle and Allena Wong were able to get a game off the Vikings' Nell Arendt and Emily Rees.
 
The most competitive match of doubles play was the No. 3 flight, with Alexis Garner and Sarah Forester falling 6-2 to Maddie Egan and Elizabeth Strongina.
 
SINGLES
In the top singles flight, Fujimori battled hard with Egan but eventually fell 6-4, 6-2.
 
In the No. 2 singles flight, Matsunaga was paired against Portland State's Nika Beukers and although Matsunaga was blanked in the first set, she won three in the second set before losing 6-0, 6-3.
 
Wong won four games against Strongina in the No. 3 singles contest, but fell 6-2, 6-2, while Forester was blanked 6-0, 6-0 by Arendt in the No. 4 flight.
 
Tuttle was the No. 5 seed for the Wildcats, and went against Rees, losing 6-1, 6-1. Freshman Lisa Ponti lost 6-0, 6-0 to Ohara in the first dual match action of her career.
 
NEXT
The Wildcats return to Division-III competition next weekend for their home opener against the Willamette Bearcats (0-1) on Sunday, Feb. 5 at 10:00 a.m. in a non-conference dual match.
 
They'll then take a week off before hosting the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in an exhibition on Feb. 18 before heading down to southern California to take on the Whittier Poets on Feb. 23, the Redlands Bulldogs on Feb. 25 and the Occidental Tigers on Feb. 26.
 
Linfield returns home to open the NWC schedule March 4, once again against the Bearcats. Read Full Article