PORTLAND, Ore. -- The Lewis & Clark Pioneers are on the verge of hosting the Northwest Conference Championship after two dual wins on Saturday and Sunday at the L&C Tennis Dome. The Pios lost 12 games over 12 singles matches in a pair of 9-0 wins over Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran, remaining undefeated in NWC duals.
Nationally-ranked sophomore Summer Garrison led the way in the No. 1 spot both days, defeating Puget Sound's Elizabeth Chao, 6-0, 6-0, on Saturday before defeating Pacific Lutheran's top player, Caroline Dreher, 6-2, 6-1, on Sunday. The wins move Garrison, who is ranked No. 7 in the Oracle/ITA Rankings, to 13-1 this season. The All-American is trying to qualify for back-to-back NCAA Championship appearances.
Christine Eliazo is 3-0 in the No. 2 spot after a 6-1, 7-5 win against Nicole Bouche of Puget Sound. Eliazo moved to No. 4 on Sunday against PLU and won over Lilly Le, 6-0, 6-0, improving to 15-1 on the season.
Aside from Glenna Gee-Taylor's 6-2, 6-1 win over Puget Sound's Kyla Richards in the fifth position, every other singles match for the Pios was won without giving up a game.
"It was a good weekend for the ladies. We came out and played focused tennis and didn't look past this weekend's opponents already having beaten them," said Lewis & Clark assistant coach Jimmy Chau. "Now we can set our sights on the big match ahead."
Lewis & Clark hosts Linfield in the regular season finale on Saturday. The Pioneers led Linfield by two points in the championship standings, which determine the four conference postseason teams, entering the weekend. Whichever team wins on Saturday earns a point in the standings since there is only one meeting between the two this season.
Claudia Lew (12-3) and Kacey Incerpi (9-5) won singles matches both days. Saturday, Lew defeated Tressa Bild in the No. 3 position, while Incerpi won in the fourth spot against Claire Fitzgerald. Against PLU on Sunday, Lew played at No. 5, beating Ingrid Ericksen. Incerpi was the Pios' No. 6 entry and defeated Kristi Floyd.
Natalie Kelly (3-0) was victorious over Mei Roen as Lewis & Clark's No. 6 on Saturday, while Wiktoria Plawska (11-2) played the third spot and defeated Emily Bower on Sunday. Aurora Garrison (7-8) only played singles on Sunday, beating Megan Beyers at No. 2.
Lewis & Clark swept all the doubles matches as well. Summer and Aurora Garrison (11-4) won 8-5 over Chao and Bouche on Saturday in the top match before winning at No. 3 on Sunday, 8-1, over Le and Ericksen. Eliazo and Lew (11-5) beat Fitzgerald and Bild, 8-2, at No. 2 on Saturday before an 8-5 victory over Dreher and Beyers in Sunday's top match.
Incerpi paired with Kelly (pictured right) for the first time this season on Saturday, winning the No. 3 match, 8-1, over Richards and Roen. Plawska rejoined Incerpi on Sunday in an 8-1 win over Floyd and Bower in the second position, improving the duo's record to 10-4 this season.
The Pioneers have won their last seven NWC duals by a combined score of 65-7.
Other Northwest Conference Scores
Saturday
Whitworth 7, Pacific 2
George Fox 9, Willamette 0
Linfield 9, Pacific Lutheran 0
Sunday
George Fox 9, Puget Sound 0
Whitman 9, Pacific 0
