Walla Walla, Wash.– Top-seeded Whitman and second-seeded Whitworth both won their semi-final matches and will advance to the NWC Championship match held at the Whitman Tennis Courts on Saturday at 10am.
In the first match of the tournament, the Whitman Blues took down No. 4 seeded George Fox with a dominant 4-0 win. Whitman juniors Alexander Stage and Niklas Jensen battled Fox’s Zach Moore and Aiden Cruz on the number one doubles court. The Danish duo posted a 6-3 win to conclude the doubles point. Moments before, Whitman teammates Hanri Luo and Guillermo Rodriguez claimed the win on court three, winning 6-2 before the other two courts concluded.
In singles, Whitman secured the match victory from straight set wins from Hanri Luo (No. 6), Niklas Jensen (No. 2), and Artem Manov (No. 3).
In the second semi-final match of the day, third-seeded Lewis & Clark started off the match strong, taking the doubles point with two wins on No. 2 and No. 3, while No. 1 was halted at a 4-4 draw as the point was clinched. Freshman Kaden Sigurdsson and senior Spencer Loucks of the River Otters claimed a 6-3 win over Whitworth’s Matthew Hossack and Easton Weir, while teammates Wade McDermott and Arnav Bishnoi took the 6-4 win on No. 3.
In singles, Whitworth’s Henry Preacher got the Pirates on the board with a straight set win on No. 2, while Sigurdsson made it 2-1 for Lewis & Clark on court No. 1 shortly after. Courts three and six put Whitworth at 3-2, straight set efforts from Ryan Ashley and Hossack put Whitworth into competitive position. Lewis & Clark’s Wade McDermott took a straight set win on No. 5 to tie things up– but Whitworth’s Connor Judson put the Pirates ahead at 4-3 to claim victory on No. 4. The Pirates will face Whitman tomorrow at 10am PST at the Whitman Tennis Courts, where the automatic qualifier for the NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Championships will be determined.