March 13, 2008

WOMEN’S TENNIS: Lutes Make Trek to Oregon For Two Matches

THIS WEEK: Pacific Lutheran (4-4 overall, 4-4 NWC) at Willamette, Friday, noon; PLU at Lewis & Clark, Saturday, 10 a.m.

OREGON BOUND: The Lutes head to Oregon this weekend for Northwest Conference matches against Willamette and Lewis & Clark. The Lutes and Bearcats play at noon on Friday at Courthouse Tennis Club in Salem. The match was scheduled for 3 p.m. at the campus courts, but expected rainy weather has forced the event to be moved indoors. As is often the case during this time of the year in the Pacific Northwest, court availability has brought about a change in the starting time. Lewis & Clark has indoor courts under a bubble and that match will begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday as scheduled.

THE FIRST TIME: PLU defeated Willamette, 6-3, in its season opener back on Feb. 15. The match was played at the Puget Sound Tennis Pavilion. The Lutes were able to take two of the three doubles matches from the Bearcats with Erika Feltus and Ashley Coats winning at No. 1 and Esther Ham and Deanna Elmer winning at No. 3. Many of the singles matches were nail biters with four of the six matches going to three sets. The number two singles match was a marathon between Liz Currey and Alaine Anderson with Currey coming out on top, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4. Ashley Coats defeated Alyssa Morrison, 6-7, 7-6, 7-6, in another lengthy match. The Lutes found the going tougher against a strong Lewis & Clark team as the Pioneers took a 6-3 decision. Ham defeated Mika Yokoyama, 6-4, 6-1, in the number five singles spot. Ham teamed up with Ellmer to win the Lutes only doubles match, 8-6. Ashley Brooks was the other singles winner for the Lutes, defeating Maggie Peach in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1.

CONFERENCE STANDINGS: As anticipated, six-time defending champion Linfield leads the nine-team Northwest Conference standings with an 8-0 record, but both Whitworth and Lewis & Clark are right there with 6-1 records. Whitman sits in fourth with a 7-3 record, while PLU is fifth at 4-4 and Willamette sixth at 3-5.

LAST WEEK: Linfield showed that it has another strong team with a 7-2 victory over Pacific Lutheran in a conference match played last Friday at Sprinker Recreation Center. PLU picked up its two points from Ashley Coats at No. 3 singles and Emily Starr at No. 5 singles. The Lutes made quick work of the visiting Pacific Boxers on Saturday at Sprinker. Erika Feltus and Ashley Coats scored an 8-2 win at No. 1 doubles, Liz Currey and Emily Starr took an 8-4 victory at No. 2, and Ashley Brooks and Morgan Jones had an 8-3 triumph at No. 3. The Lutes lost only 16 total games in the six singles matches, with Currey at No. 2 and Coats at No. 3 both shutting out their opponents. Feltus won 6-2, 6-2 at No. 1, Brooks was victorious by a 6-3, 6-2 score at No. 4, Starr gained a 6-1, 6-0 victory at No. 5, and Makara Thach stepped into the No. 6 slot with a 6-4, 6-2 victory.

- PLU -