Linfield University Athletics

MCMINNVILLE, Ore – The Linfield women's tennis team won their first dual match of the season on Sunday in Rutschman Field House, defeating the Willamette Bearcats with a 9-0 sweep in a non-conference match.
 
Linfield controlled the action the entirety of the match, outscoring Willamette 66 games to four on the day.
 
The Wildcats, reigning champions of the Northwest Conference, executed nine sweeps last year on their way to a 14-3 record.
 
It was the first win for Linfield under interim head coach Tessa Kern, a 2022 Linfield graduate who captained the Wildcats to the league title last year as a senior.
 
DOUBLES
Linfield's No. 1 doubles team of Taryn Fujimori and Lexie Matsunaga got the Wildcats started on the right foot with a 6-0 shutout of Willamette's top duo of Richelle Suzuki and Anika Groener.
 
The No. 2 flight saw another Linfield win by wide margin with Allena Wong and Emma Tuttle teaming up to beat Ruby Blake and Alexa de Crinis 6-2.
 
The Wildcats picked up another shutout in the No. 3 flight when Alexis Garner and Sarah Forester defeated the Bearcats' Paisley Lieske and McKenna Turner 6-0, setting the match score at 3-0 heading into singles play.
 
SINGLES
Playing single "pro sets" to eight games to increase the pace of play, the Wildcats utterly dominated the Bearcats through singles, allowing Willamette to pick up just two games.
 
Fujimori cruised to an 8-0 win over Suzuki in the top-flight while Matsunaga handled Groener in the No. 2 contest with an 8-1 win to clinch victory for the Wildcats, setting the match score at 5-0.
 
One game in the No. 3 flight was the last game Willamette won in the match, as Wong beat de Crinis 8-1.
 
The Wildcats shut out their opponents the rest of the way, with Forester beating Blake in the No. 4 flight 8-0, Tuttle beating Turner 8-0 in the No. 5, and the match concluding with freshman Lisa Ponti picking up the first win of her collegiate career, 8-0, over Lieske in the No. 6 match, completing Linfield's 9-0 sweep.
 
NEXT
Linfield takes next week off from competition before hosting the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in an exhibition match on Feb. 18.
 
The Wildcats then travel 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.
 
They'll then open Northwest Conference play on March 4 in McMinnville in a rematch with the Bearcats. Read Full Article