April 16, 2008

WOMEN’S TENNIS: Lutes Play Lewis & Clark in NWC Tourney Opener

COMING UP: Pacific Lutheran hosts the Northwest Conference Championships, scheduled for Friday and Saturday, April 17-18, at Yakima Tennis Club in Yakima, Wash..

CONFERENCE NOTES: A total of six teams have qualified for the tournament and they will be seeded in this order - Linfield, Whitworth, Lewis & Clark, Whitman, Willamette and PLU. The Lutes take the No. 6 seed against Lewis & Clark, which is the No. 3 seed, in an opening round match at 8 a.m. Friday. The Lutes had a pair of close matches against the Pioneers this year, losing 6-3 and 5-4. The winner of that match advances to the semifinals against No. 2 seed Whitworth.

MORE CONFERENCE NOTES: Linfield College comes into the Northwest Conference women’s championship tournament in search of its seventh consecutive team title. You would have to go all the way back to the decade of the 1970s to find when a school last won that many consecutive conference crowns. Lewis & Clark dominated throughout that decade, winning 10 straight women’s championships from 1970-79. Linfield, ranked No. 9 in the West Region, is the favorite to win the title this season based on its 16-0 record in conference matches. There are several teams, however, that could spoil Linfield’s push toward title No. 7. Whitworth, ranked No. 10 in the region, lost only two conference matches all season, both to the Wildcats. The 6-3 and 5-4 scores indicate that the teams are fairly evenly matched. Lewis & Clark had a strong season, and Whitman, ranked No. 12 in the region, is also a possible spoiler.

ABOUT THE LUTES: Pacific Lutheran (9-10 overall, 7-9 NWC) is led by a pair of seniors in the top two singles spots, Erika Feltus (7-8 in conference singles) and Liz Currey (10-4 in conference singles). Feltus has earned all-conference honors each in each of the past two seasons. Other top performers include Ashley Coats and Ashley Brooks, both 10-6 in conference singles this year. Feltus and Coats have combined for a 9-6 record at No. 1 doubles, while Currey and Brooks are 3-3 in conference doubles matches. They became a doubles team late in the year following an injury to Emily Starr, who had played doubles with Currey through the early part of the season. Starr had been 7-0 in all singles matches before being sidelined by the injury.

- PLU -