MCMINNVILLE, Ore. – An afternoon of competitive tennis inside Rutschman Fieldhouse went against Linfield's way Sunday as the Wildcats lost 5-2 to the Whitworth Pirates.
 
Linfield (2-5, 2-2) had to adjust its lineup on the fly after senior Zac Nakajima, the Wildcats' usual entry for No. 2 singles, was unable to continue after fighting through injury to complete doubles action against the Pirates (2-2, 2-1).
 
"Today hurt," said head coach Todd Mansfield. "I really thought this was going to be a win for us, but with Zac pulling a hammy, that really hamstrung us. The guys did the best they could, but we fell in a hole we just could not get out of."
 
DOUBLES
Despite a formidable effort from the 'Cats in tandem play Whitworth managed to secure the day's doubles point via sweep.
 
The Pirates took their first win at No. 3 as Connor Judson and Matthew Morrison beat Nick Owens and Alexander Rosenquist 6-2. They then secured the doubles point in the top doubles contest when Ashley Ryan and Henry Preacher beat Brooks Lerfald and a limited Nakajima 6-4.
 
The Wildcats nearly staved off the sweep in a gritty battle at No. 2, but Cameron Paulsen and Joey Henderson eventually fell via tiebreak to Matt Froslan and Matt Hossack 7-6 (7-4).
 
SINGLES
With Nakajima unavailable, Henderson moved up into the No. 2 spot in the lineup from No. 3 with the successive Wildcats following and junior Brandon Tran filling the open spot in the lineup at No. 6.
 
The Pirates were able to quickly extend their lead to two with Preacher beating Henderson at No. 2 6-0, 6-2. Linfield got on the scoreboard thanks to a gritty three-set effort by Paulsen to win 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 against Ashley.
 
The performance continued Paulsen' strong start to his junior season, improving to a team best 3-1 in singles against Northwest Conference opponents.
 
Linfield evened the score at 2-2 when Lerfald delivered another three-set victory in the day's top flight, picking up his second win of the year with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 result over Matthew Morrison.
 
"I was really pleased with Brooks' win at No. 1," said Mansfield. "He was also hurting and had to get taped up in between the second and third sets, but he fought through."
 
But the Wildcats could not keep the same success in the bottom half of the lineup.
 
Freshman Gavin Orozco nearly stole the first frame of his No. 5 match against Froslan in an extended tiebreak but was unable to sustain his success in the second set eventually falling 7-6 (9-7), 6-0.
 
At No. 6 Tran fell to Hossack 6-2, 6-0, before the match concluded with another back-and-forth match at No. 4 between Judson and Rosenquist ending in a ten-point tiebreak third set with Judson narrowly hanging on to win 3-6, 7-5, 10-8.
 
"Fortunately for us, we only have one home match next weekend," said Mansfield. "So, we can rest up and hopefully get back to 100 percent, because when we are at 100 percent, we are right in the middle of the hunt for the playoffs."
 
NEXT
Linfield visits the Pacific Boxers (2-4, 2-2) Saturday, March 1 at 11 a.m. in Forest Grove, Ore.
 
The following weekend the 'Cats visit cross-county rival George Fox before hosting Lewis & Clark in the first of three straight home matches. Read Full Article