By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

WHITTIER, Calif. -- Mikaila Smith (Sr., Mill Valley, CA/Tamalpais HS) battled to win #1 singles during an evening of close matches for Willamette University and Whittier College in women's tennis on Wednesday, March 28. Smith's win provided the clinching point with two singles matches still underway, as the Bearcats defeated the Poets, 5-4, at the Richard Ettinger Tennis Courts. Willamette completed its Spring Break trip to Southern California at 2-2.

Smith outlasted Kindall Yeung of Whittier in a tie-breaker in the first set, 7-6 (8-6), before holding off Yeung in the second set, 6-4. The triumph gave Willamette a 5-2 lead in the team standings. Whittier won #4 singles and #5 singles, the last two matches to conclude, to tighten the final score.

The Bearcats are now 7-6 on the season. Whittier dropped to 2-8.

"Today was such a fun match to finish our Spring Break trip," Willamette Head Coach Bryce Parmelly said. "We spent a lot of time mentally preparing for this match. As a group we competed brilliantly."

The doubles play set the tone for the overall match, as two of the three doubles pairings were decided by small margins. Whittier won #1 doubles, as Yeung and Amanda Rodriguez defeated Smith and Robin Pashek (Fr., The Dalles, OR/The Dalles-Wahtonka HS), 8-6. The Bearcats gained an edge by prevailing at #2 doubles and #3 doubles. In the #2 match, Sarah Dean (Fr., Boise, ID/Timberline HS) and Sylvia Marr (Fr., Grants Pass, OR/Hidden Valley HS) downed Kiara Embrey and Karissa Lee by a sizable margin at 8-1. At #3 doubles, Siena Ginsburg (Fr., Bend, OR/Summit HS) and Alexis Gjurasic (Jr., Olympia, WA/Capital HS) outscored Kallysta Lopez and Madeline Schmidt-Perez, 9-7.

Whittier tied the overall match at 2-2 by winning #2 singles, but the Bearcats grabbed victories at #6, #3 and #1 singles to secure the team victory.

At #2 singles, Rodriguez of Whittier moved past Pashek, 6-0, 6-4. Hannah Andres (Jr., Sammamish, WA/Skyline HS) of Willamette swept through the first set at #6 singles on her way to a 6-0, 6-3 triumph versus Lee. Dean rallied from a set down to win #3 singles for the Bearcats against Lopez, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3. Smith followed up with the win at #1 singles.

Embrey won for the Poets at #4 singles against Marr in three sets, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. The #5 singles match also went to three sets before Schmidt-Perez defeated Ginsburg, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2. The loss ended Ginsburg's five-match winning streak.

Willamette's next match is set for Saturday, April 7 at George Fox University. Match time in Newberg, Oregon, is scheduled for 10 a.m. (PDT).