Over the weekend, both the men’s and women’s tennis teams were hard at work finishing up the regular season.
On Friday, the women’s team played Pacific Lutheran University and soundly won 9-0. The following day, the women’s team played at home against the University of Puget Sound, and put their opponents away with an 8-1 win overall. The team finished with a perfect NWC record of 12-0, and 15-3 overall. This win means the team clinches its first outright regular season title since 1988.
The team played very well over the weekend, and finished the season on a high note.
“The team played well against UPS. They are a deep team that can be dangerous, as they finished just out of the top four in conference and came in ranked number nine in the West Region. Our doubles was sharper at one and two than it was Friday, and after a day off three played really tough and all teams fought through windy conditions, which showed our mental toughness,” said Head Coach John Hein.
Having beaten both opponents before, the team was confident to repeat.
“I think that we performed well last weekend, as evidenced by the scores of the matches. We had beaten both teams we played before, and it is easy to let one’s energy down in a situation like that. However, I think that we came out and played the tennis we know how to play, taking charge in doubles and carrying those wins through singles,” said senior Alyssa Roberg.
With a perfect season under its belt, the team moves on to the conference tournament.
“The results from this weekend leave us undefeated in conference and bring the conference tournament to Whitman, a feat the women’s tennis team hasn’t accomplished since the ’80s. It is such an awesome spot to be in. Both the men’s and women’s teams will host the conference tournament next weekend, and it will be so fun to have both teams playing for a spot in nationals. It also means so much that my last matches at Whitman will be those in the end-of-year tournament,” said Roberg.
The team remains ready and prepared for the upcoming matches in the tournament to finish the season strong.
“We are a team that uses our long-term goals to guide our daily performance. Going forward, this last weekend shows that we are improving each day and each week, which is vital as the playoffs are Friday and Saturday at home. We’re very proud of winning the conference championship, but are also very focused on Linfield [College] Friday,” said Hein.
On the men’s side of tennis, the team was hard at work in a double header against Pacific Lutheran, which Whitman won 7-2 and 8-1, followed with a win against Puget Sound, 9-0.
The wins mean the team has completed its seventh consecutive undefeated regular season.
The team went down early against Pacific Lutheran, but they quickly bounced back.
“Even though we were down after doubles in the first match, [sophomore] Colton Malesovas, [senior] Sam Sadeghi, [junior] Andy Riggs and [sophomore] Steven Roston quickly put to rest any thought of an upset. In a situation when a lot of teams would get nervous, those guys were absolutely relentless,” said Assistant Coach Conor Holton-Burke.
With an undefeated season under its belt, the team moves on to the conference tournament. Currently, the men’s team is ranked 15th in the nation.
“It was a key accomplishment to secure the regular season title and hosting privileges for the NWC tournament. We clearly still have some work to do in doubles, but I think we’re all really excited to host the tournament. It’s particularly special that both the men’s and women’s teams have earned the right to host. It should be a spectacular weekend for Whitman tennis,” said Holton-Burke.