Boxscore

by Jimmy Chau

PORTLAND, OR.-

A 9-0 loss will go in the record books, but the Pioneers have a lot of positives to gain from today's match against the Wildcats.  Playing without their #2 player due to another illness, the upper class women couldn't rally to make the ending score close. 

Having to play singles first due to class conflicts, the Pioneers would quickly find themselves in a hole as the depth of the conference championship contenders would shine.  Sarah Click and Kiana Nip would both score perfect straight set victories at #5 and #6 singles to get the visitors off to a great start.  Sophie Larson would follow after keeping Izzy Borris off balance in a 6-4, 6-1 victory.  Down 3-0 and still waiting for the two student athletes to arrive, Jill Coleman and Lexi Thomas would play the first of three supremely tight matches on the evening.  The final score of the #3 flight would end up 6-7 (2), 6-3, 7-6 (4) with every game and point pushing each player to their limit.  Olivia Sweetman had points to be up 5-4 and serve for the second set, but like most of the Wildcats on this night, Caroline Brigham came up with some clutch shots to hold serve and close out the match in a 6-1, 6-4 win.  Along with Sweetman, Amalia Nilsson didn't get a proper warmup as she came straight from class to having to play, but she performed pretty well in the circumstances.  Abby Olbrich seemed to have that something extra tonight as she played well in all the right spots.  Olbrich would take the match, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (3). 

With the match firmly in hand already, the Wildcats continued to show their depth in a 8-0 win at the #3 doubles slot.  Coleman and Sweetman would hold their own against Larson and Brigham all the way to 5-5 but once again, it was the Wildcats who came up big on several key points that took all the momentum away from the Pioneers.  The evening would end of course, with another tiebreaker as Nilsson and Borris came so close to avenging an 8-3 loss earlier in the season.  The end result was the same, but this time, two points would be the difference as a huge ace to set up match point seemed to be the decider.  Olbrich and Click ended up winning 9-8 (5).

All the credit should be given to the Wildcats for playing well in the clutch situations but many of the Pioneers walked off the court tonight thinking that they played very well in the face of adversity and wondering what could have been. 

The Pioneers take on the George Fox Bruins for the second time this week at the LC Tennis Dome on Saturday at 1 pm.