PORTLAND, Ore. — Lewis & Clark College women's tennis honored five seniors on Sunday morning before their regular-season finale against nationally ranked No. 19 Whitman College, the 2024 Northwest Conference regular-season champion.
THE BASICS
No. 19 Whitman 6, Lewis & Clark 1
(Lewis & Clark 9-10, 7-7 NWC)
(Whitman 20-3, 13-1 NWC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Seniors
Allison Gabelman,
Hayley Kreps,
Kacie Lau,
Lauren Smith-Euben and
Soraya Young-Pen walked onto the court as one unit, opening their final home match together in celebration of Senior Day. Each was recognized for their impact on the program before competition began inside the L&C Tennis Dome.
Cheers echoed up the hill to Griswold Stadium and its pressbox, setting the tone for a spirited sendoff. Facing the reigning NWC champions, the Pioneers fell behind early as Whitman swept all three doubles matches to earn the first point. Smith-Euben and sophomore
Maya Curry dropped a 6-1 decision to Bailey Bell and Teleya Blunt at No. 3 doubles. Kreps and Lau fell 6-3 at the second spot to Ilina Jha and Sascha Wells, while juniors
Susanna Anand and
Charlotte Makoni battled at No. 1 doubles before falling 7-5 to Arianna Castellanos and Nana Vang.
In singles play, Whitman quickly built on its lead. Vang defeated Kreps 6-2, 6-1 at No. 3 singles, followed by a 6-0, 6-4 win by Jha over Makoni at the No. 2 spot. Wells clinched the match for the Blues with a 6-0, 6-3 victory over Curry at No. 4.
The Blues extended their lead with a 6-1, 6-3 win from Blunt over Anand at No. 1 singles before Lau delivered a highlight for the Pioneers. Playing in her final collegiate match, Lau rolled to a 6-3, 6-1 win over Catherine Nihira at No. 6 singles to secure the lone point of the day for Lewis & Clark.
In the final match on court, Gabelman pushed Bell at No. 5 singles before falling 6-4, 6-3.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Kreps finished with a career-high 16 singles wins, including a 13-5 dual record and a 9-4 mark in NWC play—leading the team in all three categories.
- The Pioneers ended the season tied for fourth in the NWC at 7-7, but Whitworth won the tiebreaker to claim the final postseason spot.
- Gabelman posted a career-best 4-4 NWC singles record and went 3-0 at the No. 3 spot.
- Smith-Euben notched a career-high four NWC wins and went 3-1 at No. 6 singles.
WHO'S NEXT
The Pioneers head into the offseason expected to return eight players, including their top two singles and doubles players: Anand and Makoni.