By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SALEM, Ore. -- Willamette University won all three doubles matches as the Bearcats built an early lead on their way to a 7-2 victory over Pacific Lutheran University, on Saturday, Feb. 3 at the Salem Tennis and Swim Club. The non-conference match was the season opener for Willamette, now 1-0. Pacific Lutheran dropped to 1-2 on the season. Willamette and PLU, who both compete in the Northwest Conference, will meet again in an NWC match on March 11 in Tacoma, Washington.
The win on Saturday was Willamette's first dual match triumph on the court since the Bearcats downed the University of Puget Sound 6-3 on April 3, 2015 in Salem. The Bearcats received a forfeit win in the spring of 2017 from University of California, Santa Cruz after falling to the Banana Slugs at the Salem Tennis and Swim Club.
Willamette Head Coach Bryce Parmelly picked up the win on Saturday in his first dual match leading the Bearcats. Parmelly joined the Willamette coaching staff late last summer prior to the fall season.
"I'm just so proud of this team and how they competed today," Parmelly said. "We have been working hard to prepare for this season and it's always fun when the work pays off. The doubles sweep set the tone and we executed our plays well. The whole team really showed up today and they deserve to feel good about a great start to our spring season."
In the #1 doubles match, Willamette's team of Mikaila Smith (Sr., Mill Valley, CA/Tamalpais HS) and Robin Pashek (Fr., The Dalles, OR/The Dalles-Wahtonka HS) rolled past Caroline Dreher and Hannah Jeffries of PLU, 8-2. The Bearcats also took #3 doubles by a comfortable margin, as Siena Ginsburg (Fr., Bend, ORSummit HS) and Alexis Gjurasic (Jr., Olympia, WACapital HS) downed Victoria Bolshakova and Taylor Stokes, 8-3. The #2 doubles match was a battle that ended with Sarah Dean (Fr., Boise, ID/Timberline HS) and Sylvia Marr (Fr., Grants Pass, OR/Hidden Valley HS) from Willamette outscoring the PLU tandem of Bayley Gouchanour and Kristi Floyd, 8-6.
The Bearcats grabbed four wins in singles action. Pashek won a three-set match against Jeffries at #2 singles, 6-2, 2-6, 6-1. Dean prevailed at #3 singles in straight sets versus Gourchanour, 6-3, 6-3. At #5 singles, Ginsburg won a tie-breaker in the first set against Bolshakova, 7-6 (7-3), before completing the match with a 6-2 victory in the second set. Hannah Andres (Jr., Sammamish, WA/Skyline HS) took #6 singles for the Bearcats, as she defeated Stokes, 6-1, 6-4.
Pacific Lutheran picked up its two victories at #1 singles and #4 singles. In the #1 match, Dreher downed Smith, 6-2, 6-2. At #4 singles, Floyd rallied from a one-set deficit to outlast Marr, 1-6, 6-2, 6-0.
Willamette will play another non-conference match against an NWC opponent on Sunday, Feb. 4 when host University of Puget Sound. Match time at the Salem Tennis and Swim Club is scheduled for 2 p.m. (PST).
