Solomon powers Whitman past Linfield

We opened our season this afternoon vs conference opponent Linfield. We were a bit lucky with the scheduling of the match as Linfield had just finished a tough 5-4 loss to PLU. Our fresh legs were a bit much for the Wildcats as we battled to a 8-1 win.

Scoring is a bit different this year in NCAA III tennis. We are now playing a 9 point system where each doubles set counts for a point. While I'm not in favor of the scoring change I think it plays into our strength. In practice we have been working on doubles and the importance of getting out to a fast start. This work paid off as we swept all three doubles matches. Leading the charge was the freshman dynamic duo of Matt Solomon and Nadeem Kassam who cruised to 8-0 win at #2 doubles. Christoph Fuchs and Robbie Munday quickly followed with an 8-2 victory. Steven Ly and Phalkun Mam are struggling a bit with the flu but managed to squeak out an 8-6 at #1 doubles.

Because of the flu Steven pulled himself out of the singles so we were forced to move everyone up a spot in the line-up. Robbie responded to the challenge of playing #2 and was the first off the court with a solid 6-3, 6-1 victory. Matt sealed the match for Whitman with his first dual match win -- 6-0, 6-3 at #3 singles. What a nice way for the freshman to start his college dual match career: an 8-0 win in doubles followed by singles win that clinched the dual match. We also posted victories at #1 (Phalkun) 6-0, 6-4, #4 (Justin Hayashi) 6-4, 6-4, and #5 (Christoph Fuchs) 6-0, 6-2. Our only set back of the night was a 6-3, 6-1 loss at #6 (Dan Wilson).

Tomorrow is an important day for the Missionaries as we play defending conference champion PLU (#19 in nation) at 8am followed by an 8pm nightcap against host UPS.

Doubles
#1 Steven Ly/Phalkun Mam def Gabrielson/Anderson 8-6
#2 Nadeem Kassam/Matt Solomon def McGrath/Roberts 8-0
#3 Christoph Fuchs/Robbie Munday def Minice/Ruess 8-2
Singles
#1 Phalkun Mam def Ian McGrath 6-0, 6-4
#2 Robbie Munday def Cole Shelton 6-3, 6-1
#3 Matt Solomon def John Roberts 6-0, 6-3
#4 Justin Hayashi def Wes Gabrielson 6-4, 6-4
#5 Christoph Fuchs def Kyle Anderson 6-0, 6-2
#6 Dan Wilson lost Nick Ruess 6-3, 6-1