Linfield University Athletics

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The top four women's tennis teams from the Northwest Conference meet in McMinnville this weekend for the 2022 Northwest Conference Tournament. A berth in the NCAA Regionals awaits the winner of the championship match on Sunday.

Linfield won the regular-season championship, going unbeaten in eight conference matches. Whitman finished a close second with its only loss coming at the hands of Linfield. Whitworth and George Fox earned the remaining two playoff spots.

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SATURDAY, APRIL 23
SUNDAY, APRIL 24
Championship match, noon
   

LINFIELD WILDCATS (12-2, 8-0 NWC)
• Linfield won its fifth straight NWC regular season championship and its 16^th overall under second-year head coach Ella Riddle Maliska, a former Wildcat All-American and two-time NWC Player of the Year.
• The Wildcats have claimed 10 tournament championships since the NWC went to a team tournament format in 1999.
• Linfield is ranked No. 9 in the West Region and No. 37 in Division III. The Wildcats have won 11 straight matches, six of which ended in 9-0 victories. They went 23-4 against the other three teams in the tournament.
• The Wildcats are 33-8 in doubles and 62-21 in singles. They dropped just two doubles matches to NWC opponents.
• Taryn Fujimori ranks 24^th in the West Region. She's 8-5 in singles and 12-2 in doubles. Fujimori and Lexie Matsunaga are ranked 14^th in the West Region in doubles.
• Maggie Fiocchi and Sarah Forester both have 11-2 singles records. Fiocchi is a perfect 9-0 in NWC play. Emma Tuttle and Allena Wong are both 8-0 in NWC singles matches.


 

  WHITMAN BLUES (13-5, 7-1 NWC)
• Whitman enters the NWC Tournament riding a three-match win streak under head coach John Hein.
• The Blues are ranked No. 28 in the ITA national rankings and No. 7 in the West Region. They are 65-29 in singles matches and 32-16 in doubles.
• Angel Le is 8-1 in singles, playing every match in the No. 1 spot. She ranks seventh in the West Region in singles. The duo of Le and Arianna Castellanos ranks fourth in the West Region in doubles.
• Ilina Jha is 8-5 in singles and has won four straight matches. Jha and Irene Tsai have won six matches together, including three against NWC opponents.
• Mae Thorp is a perfect 6-0 in doubles matches and 6-6 in singles. Piper Rylander has not lost a singles match all season and enters the tournament at 5-0.


 

WHITWORTH PIRATES (8-7, 6-2 NWC)
• Whitworth enters the NWC Tournament having won back-to-back matches under head coach Rachel Aldridge. The Pirates are 6-1 in their last seven NWC matches, their only loss coming to Linfield.
• Whitworth is No. 15 in the latest ITA West Region rankings.
• The Pirates are 41-47 in singles, 23-19 against NWC teams. They have found success in doubles, going 26-19 in the regular season.
• Aleah Kert is 6-8 in singles, playing every match in the No. 1 spot. She is 7-7 in doubles, 7-5 when Hannah Plank is her partner.
• Kyndal Locati and Gracie Smyley are 5-4 in No. 2 doubles behind Kert and Plank.
• Jill Hughes leads the Pirates with seven singles wins and nine doubles wins. Hughes and Kara Nelson are 4-1 as a duo.


 

GEORGE FOX BRUINS (13-7, 5-3 NWC)
• George Fox won three of its last four matches heading into the NWC Tournament under head coach Rick Cruz.
• The Bruins rank No. 16 in the West Region. They beat Pacific Lutheran and Puget Sound on the final week of the regular season to clinch a spot in the tournament.
• Linfield won every singles match against George Fox on April 3 in McMinnville. Danielle Brown took the Wildcats' Taryn Fujimori to a third set after taking the first one, 6-4.
• The Bruins escaped with a win over Linfield in No. 2 doubles. The duo of Cassey Hitch and Kalli Wiker won 8-5 over the Wildcats' Maggie Fiocchi and Allena Wong.