The Loggers faced its cross town rivals Pacific Lutheran March 23 after Spring Break. The Loggers, who are 3-8 in conference, looked to take the wins from Pacific Lutheran (2-6) who sits close to them in Northwest Conference standings. However, the Loggers did not have what it took and lost 7-2. In doubles play the Lutes took 2 of the 3 matches from the Loggers, who won with Junior Nick Kelley (Denver, Colo.) and Freshman Chas Stewart (Pittsburgh, Pa.) 8- 3.
The Lutes clinched 5 singles matches, including 4 straight set victories, to give them the upper hand in the match. Kelley took the point against in a 6-3 and 6-4 win over Pacific Lutheran’s Cotton. Number 3 Stewart put up a fight against Pacific Lutheran’s AhYat but ended up losing in the super tiebreaker.
Two days later the Loggers were back at home to face Linfield and once again had a promising start that ended in a 6-3 loss. To start the Loggers took 2 of 3 doubles to give them a good lead. Again, Kelley and Stewart took the points for a doubles match and Sophomore Mike Cutter (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Senior Alex Harrison (Southborough, Mass.) also earned an 8 – 4 win for the Loggers.
In singles Harrison took another win in the number 5 spot with a 6-0, 6-0 win. Linfield took all of the remaining matches, giving them the eventual win.
The Logger’s men face off against Pacific Lutheran in their final match of the season Friday, April 1st.
The women’s tennis team had a tough match against the Linfield Wildcats on March 25th that ended in a 8-1 loss. Linfield is ranked ninth in the West Region posing a big threat for the Loggers. Freshman Marissa Friedman (Novato, Calif.) and Freshman Logan Thompson (Decorah, Iowa) were the ladies responsible for putting up the 1 point for the Loggers in doubles matches. Sophomore Maddie Holtz (Honolulu, Hi.) and Junior Ada Yu (Salem, Ore.) were defeated 8-0 in doubles and so were Junior Nina Ho (Honolulu, Hi.) and Freshman Jenna Gerdsen (Honolulu, Hi.). The 6 of the singles matches were lost in straight sets.
The next day the Loggers faced Pacific Lutheran at home, in which they won 7-2, keeping their winning streak at home alive. In doubles play, Friedman and Thompson won 8-0 and Yu and Freshman Holly Dixon (Lake Oswego, Ore.) won 8-3.
“We played really well against Linfield, one of the top teams in the league; we had some really close individual matches and even captured one of the doubles matches. This good showing against Linfield helped us to feel confident going into the PLU match,” Friedman said
Singles matches also went well for the Loggers. Gerdsen beat Pacific Lutherans Hoerr in a 6-3, 6-2 win, Thompson continued to dominate the Lutes by winning her single match 6-3, 6-1 against Pacific Lutheran’s Refaei and her doubles partner Friedman beat Ro in a 6-3, 6-1 win, and Yu also had a great day on the court beating out her opponent 6-2, 6-2.
The Loggers have a rematch with the Lutes on Friday, April 1st and round out the rest of their season with Willamette, Whitworth and Whitman.
“I think the team overall is feeling much more confident in our ability to win than we were at the beginning of this season, and I think this newfound confidence plus our desire to get into playoffs will help us improve our performances against Whitman, Whitworth, and Willamette. Also, we get to play these teams at home this time around, and we have a pretty good track record at home, so hopefully that will help us as well,” Friedman said