MCMINNVILLE, Ore. – Alexis Garner went 2-0 in the final home match of her career but the Linfield women's tennis team fell 5-4 Saturday to the Pacific Boxers.
 
The final home match of the year for Linfield (3-9, 2-4) served as Senior Day for Garner, an academic junior graduating early this May, and true senior Sarah Forester.
 
The Boxers (5-6, 3-1) moved closer to clinching a spot in the Northwest Conference Championship tournament with three matches remaining on their schedule. Pacific is ranked as the No. 16 team in the Division-III West Region by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
 
DOUBLES
At the top of the ladder Forester and Emma Tuttle faced a tough task against sister-act Cassidy and Sydnie Binder, the No. 5 ranked doubles team in the west and No. 13 in D-III. The Binder duo won 8-0 in 31 minutes.
 
The 'Cats responded with an 8-0 win of their own at No. 2 doubles as Garner and Kaitlynn Canubida beat Mia Yamaguchi and Morgan Wagoner.
 
Pacific regained the lead at No. 3 doubles where Valentina Casab-Klescova and Sofia Mazzola downed Lisa Ponti and Samantha Baltz 8-4.
 
SINGLES
Pacific immediately built their lead up to 4-1 at the start of singles as Cassidy Binder, the No. 12 singles player in D-III beat Forester 6-2, 6-0 and Sydnie Binder, the No. 32 ranked player in the nation, topped Tuttle 6-0, 6-1.
 
With the Boxers on the brink of clinching, Linfield rallied to take two more flights as Canubida beat Casab-Klescov 6-4, 6-4 at No. 3 singles and Baltz blanked Wagoner 6-0, 6-0 and set the match score at 4-3.
 
But Pacific managed to clinch victory 5-3 at No. 6 singles with Yamaguchi beating Emily Redwood 6-1, 6-2. It was the first contest of the season for the Linfield freshman.
 
The match did wrap up with a Linfield win, as Garner won her final flight in McMinnville in a nearly three-hour long battle with Mazzola at No. 4 singles.
 
Mazzola narrowly took the first set by tiebreak 7-1, before Garner responded to take the second. With the team score already clinched, a 10-point tiebreak was played in place of a third set.
 
Garner shut out Mazzola in the tiebreak to take the flight 7-6 (7-1), 6-3, 1-0 (10-0) and leave Rutschman Fieldhouse as a winner for the final time in her career.
 
Garner's 7-5 record in singles on the year is tied for Canubida for the best on the team with one match remaining on the schedule.
 
NEXT
Linfield will wrap up the regular season next Saturday, April 13 at Lewis & Clark (4-8, 1-3) inside the L&C Tennis Dome. The Wildcats beat the Pioneers 6-3 in a non-conference match on February 10.
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