MCMINNVILLE, Ore. – Linfield continued its recent run of strong play Sunday with a commanding 6-1 win over the Willamette Bearcats.
The win was the third in the last four matches for the Wildcats, their best performance over a four-contest stretch in over two calendar years and secured Linfield's fifth win of the season and in Northwest Conference play, the 'Cats most overall since 2019 and most in league play since 2011.
Linfield (5-7, 5-4) took both No. 1 flights and earned all five singles wins in straight sets over the Bearcats (1-8, 1-7).
DOUBLES
Linfield came out hot to quickly clinch the day's doubles point with strong play in the top two matches.
At No. 2
Joey Henderson and
Cameron Paulsen cruised to a 6-1 win over Sohnuske Sakaguchi and Luca Casano, while
Brooks Lerfald and
Zac Nakajima improved to 6-2 against NWC opponents with a 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 1 versus AJ Avansino and Hudson Snyder to clinch doubles.
"Willamette is a team that reminds me of us last year," said head coach
Todd Mansfield. "I don't think anyone really wants to play them. If they are on, they can be a very formidable opponent. Sam [Fectau] has done a great job with this team, so I reminded my boys about starting out strong, and they did."
Willamette picked up one doubles win unaffecting the team score with a 7-5 win at No. 3 for Jake Bronson and Jack Hally over
Alexander Rosenquist and
Nick Owens.
SINGLES
Linfield added to the lead with an impressive win at No. 2 from Nakajima, who moved above .500 in singles play on the year with a 6-0, 6-3 performance against Bronson.
Lerfald also continued his strong play back at the top of the ladder with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Avansino.
"With the way that Zac has been playing lately, I feel very good about my 1-2 punch at the top of the ladder," said Mansfield. "He and Brooks didn't disappoint today."
Paulsen continued his hot streak and dominant play in the middle of the ladder with a fourth straight win, and sixth straight at No. 3, for a team-leading seventh win in singles. He also was able to win confidently with a 6-2, 6-2 score against Sakaguchi, allowing the Wildcats to clinch in the top half of the lineup.
Willamette picked up their one point at No. 4 thanks to Snyder being able to get past Rosenquist 6-3, 6-1, but Linfield was able to win the day's last two flights with Henderson defeating Hally easily 6-1, 6-0 at No. 5 and freshman
Gavin Orozco earning the sixth win of his career 6-3, 6-0 against Casano.
"Cam, Joey and Gavin all brought their 'A' games today, utilizing everything that we had focused on during the week," said Mansfield. "They didn't just play well, they played smart, and sometimes that makes the game very easy."
NEXT
The Wildcats will face one of the toughest parts of their schedule in the next two weeks as they take a break from NWC play to visit southern California and take on a four opponents nationally ranked by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
Their next match kicks off the trip with a neutral-site contest in Claremont against No. 10 Middlebury (4-0, 3-0) on Sunday, March 22, then a visit to No. 31 Caltech (3-2, 1-0) in Pasadena the following day. The trip concludes with Linfield taking on No. 2 University of Chicago (8-2, 1-0) on March 25 in Pasadena as well, then driving to Redlands to play #27 Redlands (3-5, 0-1) later that day.
"This trip to Cali is going to be awesome," said Mansfield. "Every year I look to face off with the toughest competition I can get these boys. Every player that becomes a Wildcat needs to know that you will not only play against a great Northwest Conference, but your non-conference schedule will be one of the toughest in the country every year. I can't wait to see what my boys learn and then use in our final conference matches."
