It was an eventful weekend for the Puget Sound women’s tennis team. On Friday, March 1 they faced off against cross town rivals Pacific Lutheran University; on the morning of Sunday, March 3, they had their final match of the weekend against Whitman. Both games were conference league games for the Loggers.
During Friday’s game the Loggers initially struggled to get on the board during their several doubles matches. In the first doubles match, sophomore Josie Dow (Seattle, Wash.) and senior Maddie Thiesse (Chanhassen, Minn.) were defeated 8-1.
Following that first doubles match, juniors Logan Thompson (Decorah, Iowa) and Marissa Friedman (Novato, Calif.) fought hard in their match to put the Loggers on the board. However, it was not enough, and they lost 8-4, giving PLU a 2-0 lead.
It took the third match for the Loggers to finally get on the board, when sophomores Malia Ford (Makawao, Hawaii) and Allison Embernate (Kihei, Hawaii) took the lead and the 9-7 win for the Loggers.
When the singles matches started, it was apparent that it would be a tough win for Loggers. Both teams traded wins during singles play.
Junior Jenna Gerdsen (Kamuela, Hawaii) helped the Loggers significantly with her win in the second match. It took Gerdsen three sets to get the win after losing her first set 2-6 and winning the last two 6-3 and 6-4.
Thompson easily won her match, winning 6-2 and 6-0 against her opponent in the third singles match. Ford picked up another win in her singles match for the Loggers, winning 6-4 and 6-3 in the sixth match.
At the end of the singles matches, it was clear that both teams were neck-and-neck on the scoreboard, and the final singles match would determine the winner of the entire game. Dow played in the last singles match and, after losing the first set 4-6, she managed to beat her opponent in the last two sets, 6-1 and 6-4, taking the win for the Loggers.
As the Loggers faced off against Whitman, it was clear from the beginning that it would be a tough game. While playing in the singles matches, several Loggers earned wins for the team. Thompson, Friedman, Dow and Ford all came away with wins, receiving more points than Whitman during the singles matches.
The Loggers ran into trouble when the doubles matches began. Whitman managed to sweep all three doubles matches which easily enabled them to win the entire game over the Loggers.
Splitting the two matches over the weekend still leaves the Loggers in reasonably good position going forward. The weekend brought the Loggers to 3-2 overall, and with four consecutive home matches, the team has a chance to set themselves apart in the coming weeks.
The Loggers will play again tonight, Friday, March 8, and Saturday, March 9 against Lewis and Clark and Willamette in the University of Puget Sound Tennis Pavilion.
