LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The Wildcat women's tennis team fell 7-2 Wednesday evening to the Occidental Tigers in the first of two non-conference matches in southern California for Linfield over the University's spring break.
 
It was the first ever win for Occidental (6-3, 0-1) over Linfield (2-7, 1-3) after the Wildcats took the first two meetings between the two programs in 2022 and '23.
 
The Tigers entered the day ranked No. 41 in Division-III and No. 7 in the D-III West Region by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
 
DOUBLES
Occidental took an early lead on the afternoon with a pair of wins in the top two doubles flights, taking both matches 8-4.
 
At No. 1 doubles the Tigers' Kristina Lee and Elina Shalaev beat Linfield's Sarah Forester and Emma Tuttle, while Alexis Matabuena and Mathilde Depery topped Kaitlynna Canubida and Alexis Garner.
 
The 'Cats got on the board with an 8-6 win at No. 3 doubles by Samantha Baltz and Lisa Ponti, outlasting Julia Chen and Mia Malone. The win was the Linfield duo's second of the season.
 
SINGLES
The Tigers extended their lead to 3-1 when Malone quickly cruised to a 6-0, 6-0 win over Ponti at the No. 6 spot on the ladder to open singles play.
 
At No. 1 singles, Lee got off to a strong start over Forester with a shutout in the opening set, before Forester responded to force a seven-point tiebreak in the second. But Lee took the tiebreak to still win in straight sets, 6-0, 7-6 (7-2).
 
Linfield got a win back at No. 5 singles, where Baltz earned her fourth victory of her freshman seaso 6-2, 6-3 over Depery, but Occidental clinched the match 5-2 shortly after at No. 2 singles, where Shalaev beat Tuttle 7-6 (7-3), 6-2.
 
Both the No. 3 and 4 flights lasted over two hours after the first two sets of each were split. The No. 3 flight, between Matabuena and Canubida saw the third set played out in it's entirety, while Chun and Garner agreed instead to play the third as a 10-point tiebreak.
 
The Tigers took both, Matabuena winning 6-3, 6-7 (6-8), 6-4 and Chun 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-4).
 
NEXT
Linfield now heads south to San Diego for a tough test at Point Loma Nazarene (12-2, 0-0), tomorrow, Thursday, March 28 at 2:00.
 
A member of the Division-II Pacific West Conference, the Point Loma Sea Lions are ranked No. 21 in D-II by the ITA.
 
Linfield returns home to resume Northwest Conference action when the 'Cats host Puget Sound on Easter Sunday, March 31, at 10:00. Read Full Article