SPOKANE, Wash.—Senior
Hayley Kreps and first year
Anna English each won third-set super tiebreakers, but Lewis & Clark College women's tennis fell 5-2 to host Whitworth University on Saturday afternoon at the Scotford Tennis Center.
THE BASICS
Whitworth 5, Lewis & Clark 2
(Lewis & Clark 3-6, Northwest Conference 2-3)
(Whitworth 3-4, NWC 3-3)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Kreps (fourth singles) and English (sixth singles) each earned three-set wins in singles play but the hosts won the first six matches of the day to clinch the match win at 4-0.
Kreps looked like she was on her way to a dominant win at fourth singles. She took the first set 6-0 against the Pirates Jordan Turner-Esposito. The Whitworth sophomore responded and narrowly won set two 6-4 to force a super tiebreaker. Kreps won the super tiebreaker 10-6 to earn a 6-0, 4-6, 1-0 (10-6) victory for the first point of the day for Lewis & Clark.
English won the final match of the day to conclude. Just like Kreps, English won the first set (6-4). Whitworth's Olivia Corbett answered with a 6-4 second-set win and Corbett jumped out to a 5-3 lead in the super tiebreaker. English responded in a big way. The first year won the final seven points, including hitting a winner and forcing three errors to pick up her second career conference win.
Whitworth jumped out to a 1-0 lead after doubles.
Gracie Smyley and Faith Kert defeated junior
Susanna Anand and sophomore
Charlotte Makoni 6-2. The Pirates clinched the points with a 6-3 win at third doubles, where Audrey Judson and Corbett held off sophomore
Maya Curry and first year
Taylor Stadjuhar. In the closest of the three matches, Paige Oliver and Clara Todd snuck past senior
Kacie Lau and Kreps 7-5 at second doubles.
Kert opened singles action with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Curry at second singles.
The Pirates made it 3-0 at third singles. Makoni played Oliver tight but fell 7-5, 6-2.
Whitworth clinched the match win at number one singles. Anand took the first set 6-2, but Smyley fought back to earn a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 win.
In the fifth singles match, Judson defeated senior
Lauren Smith-Euben 6-1, 6-4.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Kreps earned her 10th singles win of the year (10-4) and improved to 3-1 this season in three-set matches.
- English picked up her third-straight singles win on Saturday. Last week, she defeated the University of Puget Sound's Pearle Buck 6-4, 6-2 at fifth singles in her NWC debut.
- Whitworth has now won back-to-back matches over Lewis & Clark and five of the past six dating back to 2019. The Pioneers had won the previous six matches from 2015-18.
WHO'S NEXT
Lewis & Clark will play defending NWC Champions Whitman College on Sunday at 11 a.m.
