MCMINNVILLE, Ore. - Kaitlynn Canubida picked up her sixth win of the season at No. 2 doubles while Emma Tuttle played in her final match inside Rustchman Fieldhouse as Linfield fell to Pacific Saturday morning, 6-1.
 
The Wildcats, shorthanded much of the year due to health, had to compete with just four active players and were forced to forfeit two singles matches and one doubles match, giving the Boxers a 2-0 team score advantage at the start of the match and a 1-0 advantage in doubles.
 
Pacific, led by reigning Northwest Conference Player of the Year and Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-American Cassidy Binder, improved to 12-5 overall and 10-3 in league play to solidify their hold on third place in the NWC. The Boxers are ranked No. 45 in Division III by the ITA.
 
Linfield fell to 1-12 in conference play with one match remaining in the season tomorrow at 11 a.m. in Salem against Willamette.
 
DOUBLES
Tuttle began her Senior Day with an impressive effort at No. 1 doubles as she and Canubida went toe-to-toe with Pacific's top duo of Binder and Chloe Takahashi, the ITA's No. 8 ranked doubles team in the DIII West Region.
 
Tuttle and Canubida competed well but ultimately the Boxer tandem managed to stave off defeat for a 7-5 win.
 
By the time the top doubles flight concluded, Pacific had already clinched the team score doubles point with a 6-0 win in the No. 2 flight for Sofia Mazzola and Stella Nishimura over freshman pair Sundi King and Lilianna Cano. The Boxers were able to clinch at No. 2 with Linfield forfeiting No. 3 doubles.
 
SINGLES
With the Wildcats also forced to forfeit No. 4 and 5 singles Pacific entered solo action needing just one win to clinch the dual match victory.
 
The Boxers were quickly able to clinch at 4-0 with a 6-0, 6-1 win for Mazzola over King at No. 3 singles.
 
Despite the team fate decided Tuttle and Canubida continued to battle in their respective contests.
The match of the day was at No. 2 singles, where Canubida dropped a tightly contested first set to Takahashi before storming back to take the second in commanding fashion and eventually win the 10-point tiebreak by three to win the flight 5-7, 6-2, 10-7.
 
It was Canubida's seventh win of her sophomore season, improving to 6-5 when playing in the No. 2 flight.
 
After a long battle in doubles, Tuttle was unable to keep pace with the All-American Binder at the top of the ladder, the Boxer taking the senior battle 6-2, 6-0.
 
"This team never quit, even under tough circumstances," said head coach Phil Whitehead. "Kaitlynn embraced my preaching to be patient and look for her opportunities, that was a big win for her, and Emma played Cassidy tough."
 
"Doubles was fantastic, we're talking about a top 20 ranked opponent. This is the second time they played them tough and had a chance to win, I'm so proud of them. Our team is better than our record and we will be back."
 
The morning's action concluded with a rested Mia Yamaguchi beating Cano 6-0, 6-0 at No. 4 to set the final score at 6-1. Read Full Article