The Linfield men's tennis team has a few new faces that have made an instant impact in 2023. That list begins with Wilhelm Saiga, who was named the Northwest Conference Men's Tennis Student-Athlete of the Week on Monday.
 
Ranked No. 18 in the latest ITA Division III West Region singles rankings, Saiga became the second Wildcat to earn Student-Athlete of the Week honors this year. Freshman Brooks Lerfald received the award back on Feb. 6 following a solid performance on the opening week of the spring season.
 
Saiga led Linfield to an 8-1 win over Puget Sound at home on Sunday in the Wildcats' lone match of the week. The junior from Tiburon, California, took No. 1 singles with scores of 6-2 and 6-2 against the Loggers' Mike Smolskis. He owns a 7-1 record in singles, playing every match in the No. 1 position. The transfer from UC Santa Barbara teamed up with Nick Gabelman to win No. 1 doubles, 8-4, over Smolskis and Rene Del Barco.
 
The 'Cats (4-8, 3-3 NWC) clawed their way back to a .500 record in NWC play thanks to a forfeit by Pacific Lutheran on Saturday. They will host Pacific at 11 a.m. Saturday in their final home match of the season.