PORTLAND, Ore. - Rogue Stone put together the second 2-0 match of his senior year inside the L&C Tennis Dome on Saturday, but Linfield fell to Lewis & Clark 5-2 in both team's first Northwest Conference contest in two weeks.
 
Matous Young later earning a point for the Wildcats also proved to be a highlight on the day.
 
Stone's win was his second at the No. 2 spot on Linfield's singles ladder while Young's win at No. 5 was his highest in the lineup since his freshman season.
 
Lewis & Clark, one of the rising programs in the NWC this year, improved to 10-4 overall on the year and 7-3 in conference play. The Wildcats fell to 2-7 against league competition.
 
DOUBLES
Stone teamed up with Brooks Lerfald for a win in the No. 1 flight, taking down the Pioneers' top team of Wade McDermott and Kai Wills 6-4.
 
The win brought Linfield's No. 1 team to 5-6 on the year and 3-4 against NWC opponents. Four of Lerfald and Stone's wins together have come in the last eight matches.
 
Despite the win at the top of the scorecard the Wildcats could not grab the team score doubles point as Lewis & Clark took the remaining two contests 6-3.
 
At No. 2 the Pios' Noah Sutin and Joey Lyon beat Young and Cameron Paulsen to improve to an impressive 12-3 on the season while Matt Chio and Spencer Loucks beat Cody Pickar and Nick Owens at No. 3.
 
SINGLES
Lewis & Clark was able to quickly move to a 2-0 advantage in the team score for the match when Lerfald was forced to retire just three sets into the No. 1 singles flight with Lyon, but Linfield was soon on the board with Stone's win.
 
The Linfield senior was able to show his veteran savvy against Sutin, a sophomore, after he was forced to win a seventh game to take the first set before adjusting his approach as the match went along to eventually comfortably win 7-5, 6-3.
 
The win was Stone's third overall in singles play this season and his first since March 9.
 
Though Stone got Linfield on the board at 2-1 the Pios clinched the match with wins at No. 3 and 4.
 
Chio was able to beat Alexander Rosenquist 6-2, 6-1 to set up a chance for McDermott to clinch at No. 3 against Paulsen in a sophomore vs. sophomore battle.
 
Paulsen gave a competitive effort in both sets, but McDermott was able to hang on to clinch for Lewis & Clark with a 7-6, 6-4 win, his team-leading fourteenth singles win of the season.
 
Despite the match being in hand for the Pioneers, Young gave the 'Cats something to cheer for at No. 5 with an entertaining victory against Wills. The Linfield senior ended up winning with an identical score to his cohort Stone, winning 7-5, 6-3 to give the Wildcats their second point of the day.

Young's win improved his record to 2-3 against NWC opponents this season.
 
Concurrently, a rested Arnav Bishnoi beat Pickar 6-1, 6-1 at No. 6 to set the final score at 5-2.
 
NEXT
After driving back down from Portland Friday night Linfield will trek to Tacoma, Wash. tomorrow morning to face the Puget Sound Loggers (2-8, 2-7) at 10 a.m. The Wildcats earned their first win of the season hosting Puget Sound on February 23.
 
Next weekend the 'Cats return to McMinnville for their first home match since March 8 when they host Whitworth on April 5 before first-place Whitman comes to town April 6.
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