by Kyle Cacoyannis
The women’s tennis team split their two matches on their trip down to Salem, Oregon and Walla Walla, Washington last weekend, blowing out Willamette on Saturday, but losing on Sunday to Whitman.
Whitworth added more to its recent success with an 8-1 win over Willamette in Salem, Oregon.
“I definitely see the team getting better with every week. We have been working hard in practice and are bringing what we learn to matches,” sophomore Bella Hoyos said. “In doubles Anabelle [Burns] and I were super consistent and forced a lot of errors.”
Hoyos won her doubles match with sophomore Anabelle Burns 8-1, and also won her singles match in straight sets starting at the No. 2 spot. Senior Saryn Mooney and senior Morgan McDivitt also won their doubles match and both of their respective singles matches.
Whitworth capped off a sweep in doubles with a 5-1 win in singles. Every match the teams won ended in straight sets.
Freshman Jennifer Adams won her doubles match with Taylor Pena 8-5, and also won her singles match in straight sets starting at the No. 3 spot.
“As a freshman, it’s pretty nice to be doing well, but I’m starting to get in my groove a little bit,” Adams said. “In doubles we were able to hold serves and stay focused, and in my singles match I was able to play consistently.”
Sunday’s match against Whitman in Walla Walla was also not very close, except this time Whitworth was on the other side of the score, losing 7-2.
“The major difference between Saturday and Sunday was the caliber of the team on the other side of the net,” head coach Rachel Aldridge said. “When we play our best tennis we are closely matched with Whitman, but we did not play our best tennis today.”
Whitworth lost all three of their doubles matches, but Bella Hoyos and Morgan McDivitt came up with wins in their respective singles matches. Hoyos continued her winning form, doing so in straight sets, while McDivitt had a grind-out win in three sets after losing the first one.
“I tried to think of the score as zero to zero after losing the first set, and focus on playing patient and just playing my game,” McDivitt said. “The players we played against today were definitely harder and more consistent than yesterday.”
Whitman finished first in the Northwest Conference last year, and currently remain tied in first place with Linfield. With the loss on Sunday, Whitworth remains in fourth place in the conference, where they have a 3-2 record.