THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - The Linfield men's tennis team played a difficult three-match stretch against top talent in Southern California this week, falling to Whittier, Irvine Valley and Cal Lutheran in consecutive contests over the spring break.
 
MATCH 1: Whittier 4, Linfield 3
Linfield took on the Poets to open up the spring break matches. Whittier came out and got the singles point early, not for lack of trying on the Wildcats part, but adjusting to the sun after five months indoors was a challenge for Linfield.
 
The Wildcats bounced back taking four first sets and had control in another. Brooks Lerfald lifted his game while not being 100% and got the teams first win to make the score 2-1 Whittier. After Rogue Stone dropped a hard-fought battle at the second singles spot, Abhi Acharya brought the team back within one with his victory at fifth singles. Moments later, Cameron Paulsen tied it up with the longest two set match of the day. With everyone now focused on Alexander Rosenquist, he got an early break in the first set and was up 4-2, with a deuce point, but could not convert it, allowing Whittier's Aravind Binoj back into the match.  Binoj took advantage and ended up taking the match.
 
"This was a tough pill to swallow," said head coach Todd Mansfield. "I have been asking these guys to fight and today they showed me what is possible when the focus and work extra hard. We had come all the way back and it looked like we had it. But that's tennis, sometimes you think it's yours to win and your opponent snatches it away from you."
 
MATCH 2: Irvine Valley 7, Linfield 2
The Wildcats had a doubleheader on day two of the California roadtrip with the first match of the twin bill coming against Irvine Valley where the Wildcats fought hard but ultimately fell 7-2 to the Lasers.
 
Linfield showed flashes of brilliance against Irvine Valley on Tuesday morning. Lerfald and Stone led the way with a thrilling 9-8 (12-10) victory at the top doubles spot. Alexander Rosenquist (No. 4 singles) and Mateus Young (No. 6) added straight-set victories, but IVC proved too strong down the lineup. 
 
MATCH 3: Cal Lutheran 7, Linfield 0
The doubleheader concluded with a tough 7-0 loss to Cal Lutheran. The Wildcats couldn't gain traction against the Kingsmen, dropping all six singles matches in straight sets. Rosenquist showed fight in his 6-3 loss at the fourth singles spot and his match proved the most competitive of the afternoon. 
 
"I believe these matches down here are making us better and we will be able to use the knowledge to challenge those two teams above us as we fight for a playoff spot," said Mansfield. "It's a long season and we still have seven more matches to play. Sometimes learning how to win is the hardest part of one's development, but we are heading that way and I feel really good about the future of this program."
 
 
NEXT
Linfield wraps up its California trip on Thursday afternoon with a final match against Redlands beginning at 4:30 p.m.
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