MCMINNVILLE and NEWBERG, Ore. – Linfield men's tennis previewed it's 2026 season against Northwest Conference competition over the weekend at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division III Northwest Regional Championship tournament, featuring solid performances from both newcomers and returning Wildcats.
 
Senior transfer Zac Nakajima headlined Linfield's singles play, reaching the quarterfinals of the main draw before retiring with injury, while partnering with 2025 All-NWC first team selection Brooks Lerfald in doubles action to make a scintillating run to the tournament's semifinals.
 
Hosted by the George Fox Bruins, several early-round matches were played at Linfield on Friday due to court availability limitations in nearby Newberg.
 
SINGLES A DRAW
Nakajima began his weekend in the round of 64, while many other players to reach the quarterfinals were enjoying a first-round bye.
 
He started Friday by dispatching Puget Sound's Jackson Strumpf 6-4, 6-3 before impressively outlasting Whitman's Guillermo Rodriguez, who had received a bye as the tournament's No. 10 seed, in the round of 32 with a straight-sets win capped off with a narrow tiebreak, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5).
 
On Saturday, he faced Pacific's Jonathan Nguyen in the round of 16 and cruised in the first set, but was forced to win by tiebreak in the second once again to take the match 6-1, 7-6 (8-6).
 
Nakajima seemed poised for a potential upset that afternoon in the quarterfinals against No. 2 seed Zach Moore of George Fox, but was forced to retire due to injury during the match, ending his impressive introduction to NWC singles tennis.
 
Linfield also saw strong weekends in singles play from another senior transfer in Joey Henderson as well as junior Cameron Paulsen, who both reached the round of 16.
 
Both players received first-round byes after Henderson was seeded 11^th in the field and Paulsen 14^th. Henderson beat Whitman's Luo Hanri 6-4, 7-5 in the round of 32 before falling in three sets to 8-seed Kaden Sigurdsson of Lewis & Clark with a score of 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.
 
Paulsen managed a 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 win against Pacific's Ryley Chang before No. 3 seed Jason Rowe of Puget Sound beat Paulsen 6-4, 6-1 on his way to a semifinal appearance.
 
SINGLES B DRAW
McMinnville High School product Tommy Gabrielsen was the star of the B Draw for Linfield, securing a pair of gritty wins to reach the quarterfinals.
 
His Friday started slowly, as he found himself blanked in the first set of his round of 32 match with Puget Sound's Aidan Kresko before storming back with a brilliant comeback to win 0-6, 6-2 (10-4).
 
He then upset No. 7 seed Gaven Soriano of Pacific in straight sets, earning the first by tiebreak before taking the second handily to advance to the quarterfinals with a 7-6 (8-6), 6-2 win.
 
Gabrielsen's run ended there on Saturday afternoon as he fell to Braeden Butler 6-2, 6-3.
 
Freshman Gavin Orozco also recorded a win in the B Draw, beating Willamette's Jack Hally 5-7, 6-2 (10-6) before falling to Pacific's Guillermo Arce Nieva in the round of 16.
 
DOUBLES DRAW
Nakajima and Lerfald proved that they could be a force to be reckoned with as a duo this spring with their run to the double's semi-finals, making good on their No. 4 seed despite not having yet played a match together.
 
Beginning Friday morning, the Wildcat's top tandem had their work cut out for them in the early rounds, winning their first two matches by tiebreak.
 
After receiving a bye in the round of 64, they faced Whitman's Dane Harrington and Cooper Wyngarden, 8-7 (10-8). The Linfield duo then faced another seeded team in No. 9 Easton Weir and Matthew Hossack in the round of 16, gritting out an 8-7 (7-5) win to reach the quarters.
 
In the quarters they won another close match but in regulation, beating top Puget Sound duo Jason Rowe and Jackson Strumpf 8-6 to advance to Sunday morning's semifinal.
Lerfald and Nakajima battled with No. 5 seed Kai Wills and Noah Sutin of Lewis & Clark, but with Nakajima fighting through injury sustained in Saturday afternoon's singles quarterfinal the Pioneer duo managed to outlast the 'Cats for an 8-6 victory to reach the tournament final.
 
Henderson and Paulsen, also paired together for the first time and seeded as No. 9's, received a bye before beating Whitman's Gunnar Woller and Claes Hansen 8-4 in the round of 32 but fell Saturday to 2-seed tandem Dawson Hose and Jonathon Nguyen of Pacific, 8-5.
 
NEXT
Linfield heads into its winter offseason before beginning its second season spring season under head coach Todd Mansfield at Division I Boise State on Feb. 7, 2026.