MCMINNVILLE, Ore. – Linfield women's tennis was swept 9-0 at home Thursday afternoon by a non-conference opponent in the Wellesley College Blue (5-1), making a cross-country trip from Massachusetts.
 
The match was the first of three consecutive non-conference fixtures for the Wildcats (2-6, 1-3) amidst a two-week break in the Northwest Conference schedule.
 
DOUBLES
In the No. 1 doubles flight, Wellesley's Melinda Alviar and Annissa Mu took the opening win 8-5 over Linfield's top duo of Sarah Forester and Emma Tuttle.
 
Meanwhile at No. 2 doubles, Susanne Xe and Emilee Pak dismissed Alexis Garner and Kaitlynn Canubida 8-2, while Lisa Ponti and Samantha Baltz fell to Kriti Sarav and Lily Cade 8-5, giving the Blue a 3-0 lead through doubles action.
 
SINGLES
Wellesley quickly set the tone in singles with a 6-1, 6-1 win by a rested Dalia Khera over Ponti at No. 6 singles in just 40 minutes.
 
The Blue clinched the match at 5-0 in the No. 2 singles match, where Alviar managed to beat Tuttle 6-2, 6-1 in 52 minutes.
 
At No. 3 singles, Canubida showed a nice response to win the second set after falling in the first to Pak, but it was Pak taking the third-set 10-point tiebreak to win 6-1, 3-6, 1-0 (10-6).
 
In the fourth singles flight Garner faced a fresh Veda Madhusudan, leading to another swift win for the Blue, 6-0, 6-3, while Sarav beat Baltz at No. 5 singles in a competitive 6-4, 6-4 match.
 
Wellesley clinched the sweep after a thrilling contest in No. 1 singles between Forester and Mu.
 
Mu narrowly took the first set before Forester answered with a win in the second. The 10-point tiebreaker in place of a full third set saw an additional four points played, with Mu eventually winning 7-5, 3-6, 1-0 (13-11).
 
NEXT
The 'Cats continue their pause on conference action with a trip to southern California over spring break.
 
On Wednesday, March 27 Linfield takes on the Occidental Tigers (5-3, 0-1) at McKinnon Family Tennis Center in Los Angeles, before traveling south the next day to San Diego to play Division-II opponent Point Loma Nazarene (10-2).
 
The Wildcats return home to resume NWC play on March 31 against Puget Sound on Easter Sunday.
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