Bailey helps power Whitties past Willamette

Yesterday we played conference up and comer Willamette on our home courts. The match was originally schedule for the morning, but to accommodate WU's travel plans we moved the match back to 1pm. One unexpected benefit of the time change was we were able to play the match outdoors. With the temperature around 55 and crystal blue skies we were able to play our first outdoor match of the year. As I explained the the team before the match the transition from inside tennis to outdoor tennis is never easy nor does it typically produce great tennis. However it is a process we must go through and the earlier and more often we get outside the more we will benefit.

In doubles we started pretty quickly going up breaks in all three doubles matches. Justin and Jasper continued their strong play at #3 doubles with a convincing 8-2 win. At #2 doubles Jake and Nadeem worked their way to a 8-3 victory. This left brothers Solomon battling one of the top doubles team in the league. The WU #1 team was undefeated going into the match including a 8-3 victory over the #1 team from PLU (the same PLU team that defeated Matt and Daniel a few weeks earlier.) In the end the brothers were able capitalize on a break of serve to post a 8-6 victory.

In singles we posted straight set wins at every position except #1 where Matt rallied to a 6-7, 6-1, 6-3 win. Freshman Chris Bailey also had a great match defeating a very talented Willamette player 6-3, 6-4. Box score Whitman 9 Willamette 0

After a couple weeks of conference play the NWC conference appears to be a wide open affair. Last week the Willamette team knocked off regionally ranked Linfield. On Friday night the much improved Whitworth team staked a claim as one of top teams in the conference by defeating Willamette and remaining unbeaten in conference play. However on Saturday Linfield bounced back from their disappointing loss to Willamette to defeated Whitworth 6-3. By virtue of the Whitworth loss and our undefeated conference record we moved into sole position of 1st place in the conference. To see complete conference standings click here.

Next weekend is an important weekend of play as we take on #19 PLU on their home courts.