MCMINNVILLE, Ore. – The Linfield men's tennis team lost 6-3 Saturday in Rustchman Field House to the Pacific Boxers.
The match showed a marked improvement for the Wildcats (4-9, 3-4) against the Boxers (9-4, 5-0), Saturday's match being the closest Linfield has played the solid Pacific program since 2018.
Pacific is currently ranked No. 10 in the West Region in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's most recent rankings.
Saturday also marked Senior Day for the Wildcats as they honored their lone senior,
Blake Fuentes Gilbert.
"We're so thankful for everyone who came out to support the boys and celebrate Blake's career today," said head coach
Alex Martin. "We had an amazing crowd today and there was so much great energy in the building."
"Blake's an absolute warrior and he brought so much experience to our squad. I know this season hasn't been what he wanted as he's battled injuries, but you always know he's a fighter that is going to take the court and do everything he can to find a way to win."
DOUBLES
Linfield faced stiff competition in the No. 1 doubles flight, as Pacific's Mason Tran and Quentin Gonzalez downed the Wildcats' Wilhelm Sagia and
Nick Gabelman 8-1.
In the No. 2 contest, the Boxers managed to improve to 2-0 on the day with Koby Murata and Aidan Rooney beating
Seth Lee and
Rogue Stone 8-5.
But it was in the third that the senior Fuentes Gilbert got the Wildcats on the board, teaming up with freshman
Brooks Lerfald to win 8-3 over Benjamin Dubois and Nick Koulisis.
"Blake and brooks were so focused and efficient in their doubles match," said Martin. "They attacked their game plan and really fed off each other and the energy from the crowd."
SINGLES
The top singles flight featured a matchup of two regionally ranked players, Tran for Pacific and Saiga for Linfield, ranked No. 16 and No. 18 in the west, respectively.
But it was Tran who came out on top in straight sets, winning 6-4, 6-3, Saiga losing in singles for just the second time this year and first since March 5.
In the No. 2 flight Stone fell to Gonzalez 7-5, 6-2, while Fuentes Gilbert lost a hard-fought match to Murata in the No. 3 in the final home match of his career, 6-2, 7-5 following a 13-11 tiebreaker for Murata to win the second set.
"Blake kept working and fighting to get back into his match and was almost to sneak that second set out," said Martin. "I'm so proud of how he's persevered throughout his whole career."
Linfield was able to take wins in the fourth and fifth flights, with Lerfald claiming the Wildcats' most emphatic victory of the match 6-3, 6-0 over Dubois in the No. 4 while Lee won 6-3, 2-6, 10-8 with the third set being played as a ten-point tiebreaker, Lee winning the final four straight points.
"Brooks was on fire," said Martin. "It was a great matchup for him and he really stayed focused and avoided any kind of let down over the course of the match he took control and never let go."
"Seth also came out on fire and his opponent made some great adjustments to come back but when the pressure was on in the tiebreaker he was at his best."
In the No. 6 flight
Alexander Rosenquist battled through three sets but eventually fell to Rooney, who won 7-5, 4-6, 7-5.
"Alexander battled hard today," said Martin. "He had a bit of a let down at the end of the first set but bounced back and was rock solid in the second. In the third overcame a slow start to battle back to 5-5 before his opponent was able to put the match away."
NEXT
With one match left to go on the schedule the Wildcats are outside the top four in the Northwest Conference standings but with a 3-4 league record still have a shot to qualify for the NWC Tournament on April 22 and 23.
Linfield will have to win on the road in the regular season finale at Lewis and Clark (5-9, 3-2) next Saturday at 11:00 to give maitain a chance at the program's first postseason berth since 2010.
"We control our fate," said Martin. "It's everything we hoped for at the beginning of the season and the boys are excited for the opportunity to test themselves next weekend against a really good, well coached team."
